Re: Re: Copyright Expiration ?

On 02/08/2012 5:04 AM, Dave wrote:
>
>
>
> --- In [email protected] 
> <mailto:ebook-community%40yahoogroups.com>, joseph h <joe9438@...> wrote:
>
<snip>
>
> >
> > And yes, there are many vigorous arguments about what copyright term 
> and
> > management might be changed to, but the current law is the one that
> > operates at the moment.
> >
> > Joseph Harris
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >I have some general knowledge of the current US copyright law. I was 
> asking about potential changes to the law. If one limits the period 
> during which rights are protected one must provide a renewal mechanism 
> or, among others, you will have some extremely irate corporations who 
> own own fallow copyrights that they might want to reuse.
>

It is very unlikely the US would make any major changes unilaterally; it 
is now signatory to Berne, as well as belonging to WIPO and itself 
insisting on observance of international IP rules in trade agreements. 
The only major change in the past 20 years was the lengthening of 
post-life protection to 70 years.

Copyright is pretty standard now internationally, with rights applying  
for the lifetime of the creator, but varying from 50 to 90 years for 
heirs. Terms for companies - Disney for example - are different.  There 
is no option for a rights owner to vary the term, but obviously owners 
of their individual rights can licence or give them away or exercise 
them on any terms they choose.

Trade Marks are a different IP, where renewal is part of the process. 
Renewal for copyright no longer operates anywhere, so far as I know.

As I said, there are vigorous discussions about term, and have been for 
as long as I've been interested in the area. In my opinion, the nature 
of the protection is such that one could not apply different terms to 
the right to control the issue of copies; which I think you were 
suggesting between print and digital.

However, that said, I know of no logic or set of basic assumptions that 
supports any particular term. The trend, since since author rights were 
introduced in the Queen Anne Act at the beginning of the eighteenth 
century, has been to make protection longer. Berne, about midway between 
then and now, started at life plus 50.

If you do have a good argument to support your idea I would certainly be 
interested in it.

Joseph Harris



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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