4 ms·

Medical doctors were very unhappy to pay for research papers that were funded by tax paying Americans. That's why since April 2008 all articles funded by NIH ha

by zeratul 15y ago

Medical doctors were very unhappy to pay for research papers that were funded by tax paying Americans. That's why since April 2008 all articles funded by NIH have to be freely available: http://publicaccess.nih.gov/ http://publicaccess.nih.gov/ . Remember, it's impossible for law to work backwards.

cbr 15y ago
> Remember, it's impossible for law to work backwards. Really? I think it's just politically less convenient than making laws that apply to future research. There's nothing that would keep the government from removing copyright all together if they wanted to.
alanh 15y ago
I am also quibbling with your claim “it's impossible for law to work backwards.” (IANAL) 1) It is unconstitutional to prosecute an individual for a crime that was legal at time of perpetration. 2) However, the opposite — decriminalizing previously illegal behavior — can be retroactive. 3) Changing future interpretation of copyright, etc., isn’t the same as case #1. If I’m not mistaken, Congress has passed e.g. the Mickey Mouse copyright law and the DMCA, which both extended “protection” & duration of copyright on previously created works.
- nullc 15y ago
  Maybe. http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/golan-v-holder/ http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/golan-v-holder/
- MostAwesomeDude 15y ago
  You are mistaken on retroactive copyright; publishers and artists who failed to secure copyrights the first time around did not get retroactive postmortem copyright granted to them. The classic example is the library of H. P. Lovecraft, whose stories are considered public domain as there is nobody who has a reasonable claim of copyright to them.
praeclarum 15y ago
Retroactive laws are common place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_post_facto_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_post_facto_law
- zeratul 15y ago
  I didn't know that. I was referring to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullum_crimen,_nulla_poena_sine_praevia_lege_poenali http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullum_crimen,_nulla_poena_sine... . Obviously, history shows that governments can do whatever they want if opportunity arises.

by zeratul 15y ago

cbr 15y ago

> Remember, it's impossible for law to work backwards. Really? I think it's just politically less convenient than making laws that apply to future research. There's nothing that would keep the government from removing copyright all together if they wanted to.

alanh 15y ago

I am also quibbling with your claim “it's impossible for law to work backwards.” (IANAL) 1) It is unconstitutional to prosecute an individual for a crime that was legal at time of perpetration. 2) However, the opposite — decriminalizing previously illegal behavior — can be retroactive. 3) Changing future interpretation of copyright, etc., isn’t the same as case #1. If I’m not mistaken, Congress has passed e.g. the Mickey Mouse copyright law and the DMCA, which both extended “protection” & duration of copyright on previously created works.

nullc 15y ago
Maybe. http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/golan-v-holder/ http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/golan-v-holder/
MostAwesomeDude 15y ago
You are mistaken on retroactive copyright; publishers and artists who failed to secure copyrights the first time around did not get retroactive postmortem copyright granted to them. The classic example is the library of H. P. Lovecraft, whose stories are considered public domain as there is nobody who has a reasonable claim of copyright to them.

praeclarum 15y ago

Retroactive laws are common place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_post_facto_law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_post_facto_law

zeratul 15y ago
I didn't know that. I was referring to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullum_crimen,_nulla_poena_sine_praevia_lege_poenali http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullum_crimen,_nulla_poena_sine... . Obviously, history shows that governments can do whatever they want if opportunity arises.