The new Orphan Works Act will effect me enourmously I'd appreciate it if you could take the time to write to your respective legislators. More informaiton here (as well as links to email your legislator-bots).
Hmm. I can't help but be of mixed feelings about this.
This is actually a reversion to traditional American copyright law. Until 1976, you had to register your copyrights. Now, its automatic.
However, I have issues with how we treat copyrighted materials in this country. Life of the creator +95 years seems like an absurdly long period of protection for a protection that was intended to be of limited length.
Similarly, the fundamental principle behind copyright is that a creator should be allowed to profit from his or her work for a reasonable time before it falls into the public domain. Shakespeare, for example, is public domain.
Many works currently protected by copyright are abandoned and/or orphaned. They still have value to a small number of individuals, but are no longer generating revenue for their creators. There are games and books, for example, that are copyrighted, but are no longer available on the market. Were this bill to pass, those products would become public domain.
Aargh. I am conflicted. I shall neither support nor oppose the bill.
Except what will happen also is that people like me will no longer be able to make work because we'll be too busy trying to register our work in a billion different registries. This helpful and they talk about what sort of organization would do what lawmakers say they want it to do (namely the Canadian Orphan Works Board).
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no subject
Date: 13 May 2008 22:17 (UTC)no subject
Date: 13 May 2008 22:19 (UTC)Teakwood!
no subject
Date: 13 May 2008 22:19 (UTC)no subject
Date: 13 May 2008 22:21 (UTC)no subject
Date: 13 May 2008 22:22 (UTC)no subject
Date: 13 May 2008 22:59 (UTC)no subject
Date: 14 May 2008 00:21 (UTC)This is actually a reversion to traditional American copyright law. Until 1976, you had to register your copyrights. Now, its automatic.
However, I have issues with how we treat copyrighted materials in this country. Life of the creator +95 years seems like an absurdly long period of protection for a protection that was intended to be of limited length.
Similarly, the fundamental principle behind copyright is that a creator should be allowed to profit from his or her work for a reasonable time before it falls into the public domain. Shakespeare, for example, is public domain.
Many works currently protected by copyright are abandoned and/or orphaned. They still have value to a small number of individuals, but are no longer generating revenue for their creators. There are games and books, for example, that are copyrighted, but are no longer available on the market. Were this bill to pass, those products would become public domain.
Aargh. I am conflicted. I shall neither support nor oppose the bill.
--G
no subject
Date: 14 May 2008 00:36 (UTC)