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What if we didn't wait for things to enter the public domain but instead they were born right into it? I have started a book publishing company that publishes
by sirodoht 3y ago
What if we didn't wait for things to enter the public domain but instead they were born right into it?
I have started a book publishing company that publishes new, public domain books only:
https://laniakeabooks.org/ https://laniakeabooks.org/
- jawns 3y agoHow do authors make a living by giving away all their work for free?
- Zambyte 3y agoA book in the public domain can be sold, so probably by selling books. Or other jobs. This seems really interesting to me as someone who does not write books full time.
- knome 3y agoThey established early copyright because publishers would just print copies of books and never pay the authors at all. The middlemen aren't going to do it voluntarily, and if they do, they'll be undercut by those that don't.
- Zambyte 3y agoAuthors can sell their own books even if someone else publishes it. Especially if it's published into the public domain.
- numbsafari 3y agoThe last chapter requires an enterprise license.
- sonicanatidae 3y agoHi! I found a typo, I suspect you meant, enterprise subscription.
- whycome 3y agoHow much do you want for that comment? Someone who spends years perfecting a recipe has no similar protections, yet they've certainly done work. Their options for making money off of it comes from maybe associated works, or a restaurant, or hiding the recipe. Maybe authors will have to read works out loud? Create different types of value in a world where we will have AI generating stories en masse?
- 4death4 3y agoThe recipe itself isn’t protected by copyright but the rest of a cookbook is. E.g. their writings about the recipe and the photography. Usage of one’s likeness is also subject to protection. E.g. you can’t market a cookbook on Amazon as Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa even if the contents of the book are exactly her recipes. I don’t think it’s a good analogy.
- whycome 3y agoI mean that's exactly my point -- one needs to find other ways to "making a living" from the work done within the framework of laws which may or may not appreciate or have the means to protect ones work.
- Buttons840 3y agoThey're not making a living from that comment, and they are worried that authors will not be able to make a living from their writings. Taking a big step back, I guess that question is: Do we value people who write enough that we want some full time writers? We can then structure our society accordingly.
- MichaelZuo 3y agoThere plenty of idle people who can afford to give away their book length writings for free, probably millions in fact. And some fraction of them do, some fraction add an optional donation prompt, etc...
- karaterobot 3y ago
- novosel 3y agoSo, one writes a book to make a living? You made that comment to make ends meet? It is only "for free" if it has any value. This is the gift economy, where reciprocity is just a special (restricted) case of it.
- temp112123 3y ago[dead]
- ghaff 3y agoIt's either done as a hobby and/or the reputational etc. benefits support their "brand" in their pursuits that they do get paid for.
- eikenberry 3y agoAuthors don't make a living from their work now. I've known many authors and they all do it as a side gig.. to promote their career while making a few extra bucks. None of them were even close to doing it for a living. If you want to encourage writing you'll need a different system than copyright.
- krapp 3y agoWeird. Every author I'm aware of writes their books for an actual living.
- Zambyte 3y agoThis is fantastic. I want to know: how do you plan to sustain this? Donations?
- sirodoht 3y agoIn the last 6 months, I have published two books on my "free time" while working a full-time job. It wasn't unsustainable, just a bit more busy. I might even do it again in the next 6 months! Essentially: it's rare that people want to publish books and dedicate them to the public domain. People who write a lot are writers who make a living from writing and they write on Substack, for newspapers, large publishing houses, et al. They are not interested in dedicating words to the public domain. Thusly, Laniakea Books is not an unsustainable operation :)
- Zambyte 3y agoUnderstood, thank you <3
- ssgodderidge 3y agoThank you! This is fantastic. Letters From Prison [1] is incredible. Will take a look at the other books soon. [1] https://laniakeabooks.org/books/letters-from-prison/ https://laniakeabooks.org/books/letters-from-prison/
- c0pium 3y agoHave you spoken with lawyers about this idea? At least in the United States, that’s not how copyright or public domain works. One does not need to apply for copyright to receive one, and there is no mechanism for renouncing copyright. There is a belief held by some that copyright, like many other rights, can be renounced however that theory has never been tested in court and there are several dissenting opinions from notable IP lawyers. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#register https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#register
- ghaff 3y agoThe MIT No Attribution (MIT-0) license is an OSI-approved license. As I've been told by at least a couple IP lawyers, the situation may be stickier in continental Europe. Most works the US federal government creates are also considered in the public domain so it doesn't seem that controversial a concept in the US.
- herval 3y agocode under MIT-0 is still copyrighted to its original author - it just authorizes derivative work to be done without explicitly mentioning it (which is different from public domain)
- ghaff 3y agoWe're getting into pretty meaningless distinctions though. Anyone can take the work, give no credit, and use it however they wish. Which sounds a lot like public domain. CC0 from Creative Commons does explicitly state "place them as completely as possible in the public domain." It does also acknowledge that it is not always possible to fully do so because of unrelinquishable moral rights and other reasons. https://creativecommons.org/public-domain/cc0/ https://creativecommons.org/public-domain/cc0/ To the original point, it may well make sense to license under MIT-0 or CC0 if they want to place a book in the public domain. The OSI's concerns about CC0 don't really apply to writing as I understand it.
- c0pium 3y ago
- FalconSensei 3y agoHonest question: how do you feel about paying for editor's work and marketing a new author if then anyone can sell the resulting book?