12-13-2005, 01:42 AM
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, dear (Time/Warner/AOL)
Happy Birthday to you-ooo!
My two cents:
Copyright and Patents are good, and limits on the period for the term of that protection is also good.
For every Mickey Mouse that still has commercial value long after the death of it's creator, there are thousands of creations that are neglected and lost because they are not perceived to be worth preserving if the property owner doesn't do it himself.
By entering the public domain in a reasonable period of time, the preservation of these works falls to the Public. Even the most obscure work will find dozens, or more likely hundreds of members of "the Public" who will work to preserve it for the future.
Today, it costs nothing for a creator to receive the protection of copyright. Part of that deal, however, was that the protected material would be turned over to the Public after a period of time.
That period has been extended over the years, especially over the last fifteen years when automatic copyright has been extended from 27 years (plus one renewal, if filed) to 95 years.
Some individuals want to do away with any limit at all, and have a perpetual copyright. In the meantime, Disney uses a stylized image of Mickey Mouse as a Trademark logo, which has no time limit, as a (weak) basis to claim perpetual ownership of Steamboat Willie.
I feel that the "Life plus 50 years" and "Creation plus 75 years" terms of copyright from the 90s was more than sufficient. Perhaps, if the good creations of the last century eventually become unprotected, there will be incentive to develop NEW works, NEW characters, instead of grave-robbing from the past.
-rcv-
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, dear (Time/Warner/AOL)
Happy Birthday to you-ooo!
My two cents:
Copyright and Patents are good, and limits on the period for the term of that protection is also good.
For every Mickey Mouse that still has commercial value long after the death of it's creator, there are thousands of creations that are neglected and lost because they are not perceived to be worth preserving if the property owner doesn't do it himself.
By entering the public domain in a reasonable period of time, the preservation of these works falls to the Public. Even the most obscure work will find dozens, or more likely hundreds of members of "the Public" who will work to preserve it for the future.
Today, it costs nothing for a creator to receive the protection of copyright. Part of that deal, however, was that the protected material would be turned over to the Public after a period of time.
That period has been extended over the years, especially over the last fifteen years when automatic copyright has been extended from 27 years (plus one renewal, if filed) to 95 years.
Some individuals want to do away with any limit at all, and have a perpetual copyright. In the meantime, Disney uses a stylized image of Mickey Mouse as a Trademark logo, which has no time limit, as a (weak) basis to claim perpetual ownership of Steamboat Willie.
I feel that the "Life plus 50 years" and "Creation plus 75 years" terms of copyright from the 90s was more than sufficient. Perhaps, if the good creations of the last century eventually become unprotected, there will be incentive to develop NEW works, NEW characters, instead of grave-robbing from the past.
-rcv-