2 ms·

> The question is - why should you have a right to spread _my work_ for free? I spent almost 2 years on writing the book. I hope you have a good answer. My ans

> The question is - why should you have a right to spread _my work_ for free? I spent almost 2 years on writing the book. I hope you have a good answer. My answer to this is that authors (and other creatives) should have a right to recoup the costs (including time) of their efforts, but currently the time period for doing so is ridiculously (too) long. We're talking decades: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries%27_copyright_lengths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries%27_copyright... In the US, the original copyright term was 14 years, and if the author was alive after the end of that there was another (optional?) 14 year extension: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_copyright_law_of_the_United_States#Copyright_Act_of_1790 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_copyright_law_of_th... Later, the initial period was set to 28 years, with an optional 14 year extension. IMHO, if one couldn't make a go of one's work after 2+ decades, then other people really should be allowed to have a kick at the can.

mtmail 4y ago
Those are good arguments against the length of the copyright, but not copyright itself. I assume the author got their book pirated in short time (shorter than 14 years) after release.
- yencabulator 4y ago
  If copyright didn't always extend to cover all of Mickey Mouse's existence, would piracy be as popular?
  - Planktonne 4y ago
    I don't think most piracy is early Mickey Mouse cartoons; if the argument for piracy based on copyright length was sincere, I'd expect to see almost exclusively older works pirated, but that's not what's most popular on the torrents.
    - yencabulator 4y ago
      Oh for sure the setting has evolved plenty from the early days, but that inherent conflict of resource guarding vs access is what drives a lot piracy. Other angles on the same continuum: - You cannot pay a reasonable amount to a single provider and expect to watch the television shows your friends talk about. - You cannot go back and re-watch your favorite television show on a streaming service where you originally watched it, as their catalog dropped it last year.

mtmail 4y ago

Those are good arguments against the length of the copyright, but not copyright itself. I assume the author got their book pirated in short time (shorter than 14 years) after release.

yencabulator 4y ago
If copyright didn't always extend to cover all of Mickey Mouse's existence, would piracy be as popular?
- Planktonne 4y ago
  I don't think most piracy is early Mickey Mouse cartoons; if the argument for piracy based on copyright length was sincere, I'd expect to see almost exclusively older works pirated, but that's not what's most popular on the torrents.
  - yencabulator 4y ago
    Oh for sure the setting has evolved plenty from the early days, but that inherent conflict of resource guarding vs access is what drives a lot piracy. Other angles on the same continuum: - You cannot pay a reasonable amount to a single provider and expect to watch the television shows your friends talk about. - You cannot go back and re-watch your favorite television show on a streaming service where you originally watched it, as their catalog dropped it last year.