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> but I can't see how, compared to existing copyright law, they encourage dishonesty, get messy, or require new industry. The comparison was with OP's suggesti

> but I can't see how, compared to existing copyright law, they encourage dishonesty, get messy, or require new industry. The comparison was with OP's suggestion of replacing copyright with a simple tax, not with current copyright law. I agree Harberger taxes would be simpler than the existing system, though still not preferable. > In a de novo work like Toy Story, or a fully licensed work like Wreck-It Ralph, Disney owns the rights and knows their value when they announce the upcoming film. Sure, but a competitor could steal the rights out from under them in the time between announcing the film and the film hitting theaters. There's another issue with not-yet-profitable IP. With Harberger taxes you wouldn't be able to protect IP while you're still working to build products around it. This is another way that smaller / new players get screwed with this type of system. As I said, the forced buying / selling creates way more problems than it solves. All we are trying to do here is determine how high a tax should be. Inventing a scheme where people and companies can steal from each other (for a fee) is always going to have worse second order effects and be more complicated than just coming up with a price formula for the tax.

khafra 5y ago
The “initial duration X free” I mentioned solves all these problems without producing very onerous complications. Even if it didn’t, a small creator could get immediate cash infusions simply by pricing his newly created characters at a large multiple of what he thinks he could make off them—that way, Disney’s buyout is a providential windfall instead of legal thievery. I think you’re undercounting the benefits and overcounting the side effects of incentive compatible mechanisms!
- dahfizz 5y ago
  > The “initial duration X free” I mentioned solves all these problems without producing very onerous complications. I guess that depends on how you define it. All the marvel characters and stories have existed for decades. The only thing new about the movies are the movies themselves > a small creator could get immediate cash infusions simply by pricing his newly created characters at a large multiple of what he thinks he could make off them—that way, Disney’s buyout is a providential windfall instead of legal thievery. Yeah, and run the risk of bankrupting themselves from the tax bill in the process.

khafra 5y ago

The “initial duration X free” I mentioned solves all these problems without producing very onerous complications. Even if it didn’t, a small creator could get immediate cash infusions simply by pricing his newly created characters at a large multiple of what he thinks he could make off them—that way, Disney’s buyout is a providential windfall instead of legal thievery. I think you’re undercounting the benefits and overcounting the side effects of incentive compatible mechanisms!

dahfizz 5y ago
> The “initial duration X free” I mentioned solves all these problems without producing very onerous complications. I guess that depends on how you define it. All the marvel characters and stories have existed for decades. The only thing new about the movies are the movies themselves > a small creator could get immediate cash infusions simply by pricing his newly created characters at a large multiple of what he thinks he could make off them—that way, Disney’s buyout is a providential windfall instead of legal thievery. Yeah, and run the risk of bankrupting themselves from the tax bill in the process.