Re: [dvd-discuss] Petition for rational copyright law

[microlenz(at)earthlink.net]

On 6 Jun 2003 at 11:45, Steve Hosgood wrote:

Date sent:      	Fri, 6 Jun 2003 11:45:03 +0100
Subject:        	Re: [dvd-discuss] Petition for rational copyright law 
To:             	dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu
From:           	"Steve Hosgood" <steve@caederus.com>
Send reply to:  	dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu

> "Michael A Rolenz" <Michael.A.Rolenz@aero.org> wrote:
> > But what is simpler? Affixing a copyright notice and a date on the work 
> > with the universal understanding that after N years the work is in the 
> > public domain or a system where every work requires a search. BTW-the 
> > search may be a simple as going to www.copyright.gov but must also be 
> > available in other forms as well.
> 
> There is a slightly better system. You affix the copyright notice, but in
> addition to stating the date it was published YOU STATE THE DATE IT EXPIRES.
> 
> This stops any future arguments and rules-changes being applied retroactively,
> and shows that the author did agree to to the terms in force at the time of
> publication, vis that it enters P.D at some specified point in the future.
> 
> Walt Disney, after all, did accept that Mickey Mouse would enter P.D in 1978
> when he published Steamboat Willie in 1928. If it had said so in the credits,
> we'd all be a lot happier now.


Other than allowing Congress to "fine tune" <sarcasm> the copyright term when 
the date of copyright is specified rather than the date of expiration, that 
would be the preferred method.

The whole problem with ALL the registration schemes, extension fees based upon 
economic worth and all this is that while it appeals to us as techno-geeks who 
got to do DIFFEQs in college and max/min's in calculus to seek the optimum is 
that IT"S NOT SIMPLE. Nor can any multidimensional problem be optimized (and 
it's a waste of time to attempt it.) It takes a lot of work to find out if 
something is copyrighted. And everyone from Grandma on down to her grandchild 
has to know how to log on 
www.copyright.com/are_you_a_copyright_infringer_query/database/find_it
then that's really not simple nor productive. It's pandering to the copyright 
industry by bowing down the ideology of the Berne Convention and attempting to 
supplant a pragmatic approach to copyright.

I really do not see why N years PERIOD, should be considered brutal in its 
absolute equality and has to be replaced with all sorts of schemes to optimize 
the return. Optimizing the return is what you do when you're not making a lot 
more than you can deal with. Optimizing copyright is the same way. If we are 
not overflowing with useful memorable copyrighted material then something is 
wrong with how we are dealing out copyright.

> 
> 
> P.S:
> I didn't invent this idea. Just reminding y'all!
> 
> --
> 
> Steve Hosgood                               |
> steve@caederus.com                          | "A good plan today is better
> Phone: +44 1792 203707 + ask for Steve      |   than a perfect plan tomorrow"
> Fax:   +44 70922 70944                      |              - Conrad Brean
> --------------------------------------------+
>         http://tallyho.bc.nu/~steve         |  ( from the film "Wag the Dog" )
> 
>