
The Copyright Office Belongs in a Library - DiabloD3
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/07/copyright-office-belongs-library
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burnte
This only highlights how the intention of copyright as put forth by the
framers has been distorted through the lens of business. Book publishers
thought libraries might be a threat to the "modern" publishing industry in the
1800s, just like the movie studios thought home video would kill movies. They
were incorrect on both counts, however with the ease and low cost of digital
copies, there actually IS a great deal of money to be made without actually
doing more work by perpetuating the endless copyright. Given how money focused
politicians are, and how much influence business plays with them, its not a
difficult argument to make, especially when the argument is money versus the
betterment of society and future creativity. One is easily measured now, the
other is not easily measured, and only pays off on the scale of decades.

Disney took public domain stories, and made billions by creating their own
versions, and now seek to prevent others from doing the same. The estate of
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (who died 85 years ago this month) found only partial
relief in the extension of the money machine, with stories and characters
before 1923 now in the public domain, and stories after 1923 still under
copyright 92 years later! Sherlock has become a huge influence not just in
other creative works, but derivative works such as TV shows and movies that
pay no royalty to the Doyle estate. Doyle himself was influence by other
authors, such as Poe, as well as real people.

The intent of copyright was to give limited protection to the creators of
creative works, because while society as a whole benefits from the arts, it
can only occur if there is a benefit to the creators. So we gave them a
limited monopoly, just like patents, to enjoy the fruits of their labors
before they became part of society as a whole. Few artists want to create
works that only a select few can enjoy, however the financial interest is in
doing just that. Just as software patents threaten our industry (and patent
abuse on the whole threatens many industries), copyright abuse threatens the
enrichment of society as a whole. We do not own our children, we only raise
them for a while and unleash them into the world. The same is true with art.
That is the way it was meant to be.

~~~
effie
> Disney took public domain stories, and made billions by creating their own
> versions, and now seek to prevent others from doing the same.

Could you please give an example? Is Sherlock Holmes a character groundlessly
appropriated by Disney?

~~~
flexie
The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, The
Ugly Duckling, Three Little Pigs, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan,
Beauty and the Beast, Alladin, The Princess and the Frog, Frozen.

And many, many more.

~~~
rayiner
Very few of those would be copyright infringement were the stories not in the
public domain.

~~~
dredmorbius
Try writing and selling your own Mickey Mouse story.

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lo_fye
No, how about a museum (of antiquities we no longer require)

~~~
johncolanduoni
Do you also support closed source software companies being able to rip off any
open source code released under a copyleft license? Because the legal recourse
offered to them relies on the same mechanism.

~~~
icebraining
I'm not lo_fye, but in my opinion, if we can get full elimination of copyright
( _and_ software patents, must be both), the trade is absolutely worth doing,
even though I currently license my own work as AGPL.

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dnautics
I'm not a huge fan of copyright, but I wholeheartedly disagree with this
analysis. The clause providing for copyright is an Article I, Section 8
clause. Generally Speaking (except for the post office) the AIS8 duties have
legislated details, but execution is left to the executive branch. For
example, the USPTO is part of the department of commerce. It's not clear as to
why the copyright office, which is justified in the same clause that justifies
the PTO, shouldn't be part of the executive branch.

------
MichaelCrawford

       Your link may be on-topic but it's awfully pink and salty.
       -- J. Random Kuron
    

Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads

[http://www.warplife.com/tips/law/copyright/music/legal-
downl...](http://www.warplife.com/tips/law/copyright/music/legal-
downloads.html)

"Enjoy Free Music without getting in trouble by downloading the legal MP3s
that many musicians provide as a way to promote themselves."

I wrote this in response to the RIAA's effort to convince the public that all
music downloads are legal. You can download anything you want provided you
have permission of the copyrigh holder, it is in the public domain or local
laws permit it.

The RIAA responded by publishing their own legal music downloads list. They
were all sites that carried tracks from the major labels. As that page was
effectively giving my own free advertising they took it down after a few
months.

I need to verify and update the links, I have that written down on my ToDo
list. Maybe Tomorrow.

Musicians: List Your Band's Website
[http://www.warplife.com/tips/law/copyright/music/legal-
downl...](http://www.warplife.com/tips/law/copyright/music/legal-
downloads.html#reciprocal)

I estimate that my copy and Kuro5hin's together have had ten million
pageviews.

Note: "Legal" doesn't imply "Free" though most are free.

