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To: zeugma

The people who own the right probably don’t agree that we have “ insane copyright laws “


82 posted on 03/11/2012 8:42:15 AM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both)
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To: BenLurkin
The people who own the right probably don’t agree that we have “ insane copyright laws “

Probably, although since most people "protected" by copyright at the present time are already dead, one could make the opposite argument. Companies like Disney buy enough congresscritters to make sure that copyright never expires on their works, but then, when they want to make money, where do they look? Disney has a long history of appropriating stories and characters from the public domain for their own purposes. Their latest flick, "John Carter", was originally a story by Edgar Rice Burroughs called "A Princess of Mars" and was published in 1917. If the copyright that exists today had existed in 1917, they wouldn't be able to make this movie without paying his heirs until 2020. (Life of the author plus 70 years)

Yes, the modern American copyright is insane.

I'd have some respect for copyright if we'd stuck with the idea of "limited times" as specified in the Constitution. Two 14-year terms is plenty long for a work to be under copyright. The vast majority of works produced in the 20th century are still under copyright, even though they are out of print, and have been so for decades. Society gains nothing from this arrangement. The natural state of literary works is in the public domain. Copyright is an artificial mechanism put in place to encourage the production of works in the arts and sciences. The fact that someone's great-great-great-great grandchild is receiving benefits from copyright encourages nothing bot sloth.

86 posted on 03/11/2012 10:42:09 AM PDT by zeugma (Those of us who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living.)
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