4 ms·

"Wondering what will enter the public domain through copyright expiration in the U.S.? Like last year, and the year before… Nothing" (sigh)

walterbell 9y ago
What is expected to happen with US law in 2019 - another Disney extension?
- 1_2__4 9y ago
  How could anyone possibly predict anything else, given the US government right now?
  - vkou 9y ago
    The US government right now is waging a war against the commons. As such, it's pretty easy to predict that they will, with no fanfare or controversy, pass a law that enriches large corporations at the expense of everyone else. Trump signing the Mickey Mouse Act of 2019 would be the least surprising thing about his presidency. Him not signing it is certainly possible (Even a broken clock is right twice a day), but it would be surprising and unexpected.
    - LoserNerd420 9y ago
      That's why he's getting these "commons" a tax break and trying to fix their shitty health care? Idiot.
  - averagewall 9y ago
    It did stop the TPP trade agreement which would have extended copyright terms in other countries.
- jccalhoun 9y ago
  I wouldn't be surprised. I am kind of surprised that we haven't heard rumbling already but with all the moves Disney has made maybe they are afraid of drawing too much attention to themselves and will wait.
- mortenjorck 9y ago
  I still don't understand why Disney has historically been so paranoid of Steamboat Willie entering the public domain anyway - Isn't Mickey protected well enough by trademark (which is perpetual so long as it's defended) that copyright on a 1928 cartoon is no longer instrumental in maintaining the proprietary protection of the character?
  - M2Ys4U 9y ago
    Copyright is as much (if not more) about power and control as is is about anything else. It's one more hammer in their toolset to whack others on the head with.
  - e12e 9y ago
    Don't forget that Disney really knows the power of public domain. Could you imagine if "Snow White" was allowed to enter the public domain? Anyone would be able to retell that story to their children without worrying about performing a copyrighted work in public without a licence!
    - earenndil 9y ago
      Well they can do that anyway. Snow white is a fairy tale that's existed for hundreds of years. What's copyrighted specifically is the disney version of it.
- regulation_d 9y ago
  Just a reminder: the Constitution requires that copyrights be of a "limited times". If we keep pushing the year back in perpetuity, we should be honest about the fact that we're violating the Constitution.
shams93 9y ago
Well thanks to the generosity of the OTO basically all of Crowley's public works have been available for 20 years now. They basically allow people to share his works because sharing has encouraged more sales of his physical books which they earn income from producing.
- vinceguidry 9y ago
  Mere sharing is quite different from the ability to produce derivative works. Crowley works entering the public domain should be a boon for his accessibility as fanfic anthologies become publishable.

walterbell 9y ago

What is expected to happen with US law in 2019 - another Disney extension?

1_2__4 9y ago
How could anyone possibly predict anything else, given the US government right now?
- vkou 9y ago
  The US government right now is waging a war against the commons. As such, it's pretty easy to predict that they will, with no fanfare or controversy, pass a law that enriches large corporations at the expense of everyone else. Trump signing the Mickey Mouse Act of 2019 would be the least surprising thing about his presidency. Him not signing it is certainly possible (Even a broken clock is right twice a day), but it would be surprising and unexpected.
  - LoserNerd420 9y ago
    That's why he's getting these "commons" a tax break and trying to fix their shitty health care? Idiot.
- averagewall 9y ago
  It did stop the TPP trade agreement which would have extended copyright terms in other countries.
jccalhoun 9y ago
I wouldn't be surprised. I am kind of surprised that we haven't heard rumbling already but with all the moves Disney has made maybe they are afraid of drawing too much attention to themselves and will wait.
mortenjorck 9y ago
I still don't understand why Disney has historically been so paranoid of Steamboat Willie entering the public domain anyway - Isn't Mickey protected well enough by trademark (which is perpetual so long as it's defended) that copyright on a 1928 cartoon is no longer instrumental in maintaining the proprietary protection of the character?
- M2Ys4U 9y ago
  Copyright is as much (if not more) about power and control as is is about anything else. It's one more hammer in their toolset to whack others on the head with.
- e12e 9y ago
  Don't forget that Disney really knows the power of public domain. Could you imagine if "Snow White" was allowed to enter the public domain? Anyone would be able to retell that story to their children without worrying about performing a copyrighted work in public without a licence!
  - earenndil 9y ago
    Well they can do that anyway. Snow white is a fairy tale that's existed for hundreds of years. What's copyrighted specifically is the disney version of it.
regulation_d 9y ago
Just a reminder: the Constitution requires that copyrights be of a "limited times". If we keep pushing the year back in perpetuity, we should be honest about the fact that we're violating the Constitution.

shams93 9y ago

Well thanks to the generosity of the OTO basically all of Crowley's public works have been available for 20 years now. They basically allow people to share his works because sharing has encouraged more sales of his physical books which they earn income from producing.

vinceguidry 9y ago
Mere sharing is quite different from the ability to produce derivative works. Crowley works entering the public domain should be a boon for his accessibility as fanfic anthologies become publishable.