4 ms·

When America fixes copyright to be life of the author only, I will agree with your concerns.

JoshTriplett 6y ago
How many books written today would not be written at all if copyright lasted, say, 20 years? 10? "life of the author" is far too long; all culture is built atop other culture. Copyright is a limited exclusive grant in exchange for the expectation of having more works written/created/painted/drawn/designed. We should not just ratchet up the duration or scope of that exclusive grant without the expectation that we'll get more value out of it (more works) in the trade.
miles 6y ago
Life of the author seems potentially too short. What if an author is struck down early? Shouldn't their family left behind be able to enjoy some of the profits for a period of time?
- JoshTriplett 6y ago
  Indeed. A fixed duration would be preferable for that and many other reasons.
  - votepaunchy 6y ago
    The constitutional requirement is for “limited times”, and current law is not.
- musicale 6y ago
  Copyright is a temporary monopoly granted to incentivize the creation of new works, for the benefit of the public. As you suggest, a time-based copyright term (such as the original Copyright Act term of 14 years with a single renewal) would preserve this incentive even for authors who expect they might die before the end of the term.
- intopieces 6y ago
  > Shouldn't their family left behind be able to enjoy some of the profits for a period of time? It doesn't take copyright to make a profit off of a work. the Criterion Collection includes Charade, which is out of copyright: https://www.criterion.com/films/603-charade https://www.criterion.com/films/603-charade I'm sure the children of the author can come up with inventive ways of selling the work.
xhkkffbf 6y ago
Why treat authors differently than any other laborer? Does the ownership value in a house disappear when the carpenter dies? What about in car? Art takes work. It makes sense to give the artist something concrete that can be sold so the artist has a chance of earning a living. If that right is passed down to the kids, at least the artist has something to pass along, just like other laborers.
- zucker42 6y ago
  Houses and cars are scarce, while digital copies of a book are non-scarce.
  - xhkkffbf 6y ago
    No. The first copy of a book is VERY, VERY scarce. It can take years for an author to churn it out. Here's a deal: go write a book. If you are overjoyed to see people pirate it, I'll personally buy a copy. But I guarantee that you'll be heartbroken to see people steal. Have some respect for people who work long and hard.

How many books written today would not be written at all if copyright lasted, say, 20 years? 10? "life of the author" is far too long; all culture is built atop other culture. Copyright is a limited exclusive grant in exchange for the expectation of having more works written/created/painted/drawn/designed. We should not just ratchet up the duration or scope of that exclusive grant without the expectation that we'll get more value out of it (more works) in the trade.

miles 6y ago

Life of the author seems potentially too short. What if an author is struck down early? Shouldn't their family left behind be able to enjoy some of the profits for a period of time?

JoshTriplett 6y ago
Indeed. A fixed duration would be preferable for that and many other reasons.
- votepaunchy 6y ago
  The constitutional requirement is for “limited times”, and current law is not.
musicale 6y ago
Copyright is a temporary monopoly granted to incentivize the creation of new works, for the benefit of the public. As you suggest, a time-based copyright term (such as the original Copyright Act term of 14 years with a single renewal) would preserve this incentive even for authors who expect they might die before the end of the term.
intopieces 6y ago
> Shouldn't their family left behind be able to enjoy some of the profits for a period of time? It doesn't take copyright to make a profit off of a work. the Criterion Collection includes Charade, which is out of copyright: https://www.criterion.com/films/603-charade https://www.criterion.com/films/603-charade I'm sure the children of the author can come up with inventive ways of selling the work.

xhkkffbf 6y ago

Why treat authors differently than any other laborer? Does the ownership value in a house disappear when the carpenter dies? What about in car? Art takes work. It makes sense to give the artist something concrete that can be sold so the artist has a chance of earning a living. If that right is passed down to the kids, at least the artist has something to pass along, just like other laborers.

zucker42 6y ago
Houses and cars are scarce, while digital copies of a book are non-scarce.
- xhkkffbf 6y ago
  No. The first copy of a book is VERY, VERY scarce. It can take years for an author to churn it out. Here's a deal: go write a book. If you are overjoyed to see people pirate it, I'll personally buy a copy. But I guarantee that you'll be heartbroken to see people steal. Have some respect for people who work long and hard.