4 ms·

It'd probably turn towards Disney's history of bribing congress for copyright extensions whenever the mouse is about to enter the public domain.

by yarg 4y ago

scarface74 4y ago
The same copyright laws that the open source proponents are complaining about MS breaking?
- yarg 4y ago
  Steamboat Willie was released in 1928. People probably would have less of a problem if microsoft breached the license on 100 year old code.
- drstewart 4y ago
  There is a certain amount of irony that a likely possible outcome will be the strengthening of copyright laws and enforcement, at which point people will realize they won the battle but lost the war
  - yarg 4y ago
    The problem with copyright isn't that it exists and provides protections - this incentivises creators. But life of the creator + 70 years? Reminds me of this: https://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2007/07/research-optimal-copyright-term-is-14-years/ https://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2007/07/research-optim... https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1436186 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1436186
  - shagie 4y ago
    But isn't it copyright upon which open source is founded? The license is based on the right of the owner of the copyright to authorize someone else to create a derivative work? Without copyright, it would be perfectly legitimate and legal for someone to not follow a license (because it would bear no legal weight because of the lack of copyright). I would argue that open source is best served by strong copyright protections that allow the people created the software to make sure that further changes to it are released back to the community. Weakening copyright law means that it is that much easier for big companies to co-opt some software and not need to release the changes back.
- klyrs 4y ago
  > The same copyright laws that the open source proponents are complaining about MS breaking? As long as Microsoft can and will wield those laws against me? Darn tootin'
tzs 4y ago
That's a bit of an exaggeration. There have only been two copyright term extensions since Mickey Mouse was created, and only one of those can even remotely be attributed to Disney lobbying.
- kmeisthax 4y ago
  Even for the term extension that is attributable to Disney, you can also attribute it to Germany and the formation of the EU. "Mickey Mouse Protection Act" is funny, yes, but also an oversimplification. This is also why I fully expect Steamboat Willie to fall out of copyright protection in January 2024 - right on schedule. There's a few countries that have supra-EU copyright terms, but none of them are dealmakers. Nobody is demanding we match Mexico's life+100 terms, for example.

It'd probably turn towards Disney's history of bribing congress for copyright extensions whenever the mouse is about to enter the public domain.

by yarg 4y ago

It'd probably turn towards Disney's history of bribing congress for copyright extensions whenever the mouse is about to enter the public domain.

scarface74 4y ago

The same copyright laws that the open source proponents are complaining about MS breaking?

yarg 4y ago
Steamboat Willie was released in 1928. People probably would have less of a problem if microsoft breached the license on 100 year old code.
drstewart 4y ago
There is a certain amount of irony that a likely possible outcome will be the strengthening of copyright laws and enforcement, at which point people will realize they won the battle but lost the war
- yarg 4y ago
  The problem with copyright isn't that it exists and provides protections - this incentivises creators. But life of the creator + 70 years? Reminds me of this: https://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2007/07/research-optimal-copyright-term-is-14-years/ https://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2007/07/research-optim... https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1436186 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1436186
- shagie 4y ago
  But isn't it copyright upon which open source is founded? The license is based on the right of the owner of the copyright to authorize someone else to create a derivative work? Without copyright, it would be perfectly legitimate and legal for someone to not follow a license (because it would bear no legal weight because of the lack of copyright). I would argue that open source is best served by strong copyright protections that allow the people created the software to make sure that further changes to it are released back to the community. Weakening copyright law means that it is that much easier for big companies to co-opt some software and not need to release the changes back.
klyrs 4y ago
> The same copyright laws that the open source proponents are complaining about MS breaking? As long as Microsoft can and will wield those laws against me? Darn tootin'

tzs 4y ago

That's a bit of an exaggeration. There have only been two copyright term extensions since Mickey Mouse was created, and only one of those can even remotely be attributed to Disney lobbying.

kmeisthax 4y ago
Even for the term extension that is attributable to Disney, you can also attribute it to Germany and the formation of the EU. "Mickey Mouse Protection Act" is funny, yes, but also an oversimplification. This is also why I fully expect Steamboat Willie to fall out of copyright protection in January 2024 - right on schedule. There's a few countries that have supra-EU copyright terms, but none of them are dealmakers. Nobody is demanding we match Mexico's life+100 terms, for example.