3 ms·

Or ended. The idea of owning ideas is dumb, and corporations abuse the concept more than it benefits individuals.

delecti 2y ago
As a simple example, why would Amazon not immediately sell ebook versions of every book ever if copyright ended? Ditto for adding every movie and show to every streaming service, meaning there'd be no incentive to make them. Copyright is way too long, but it's not worthless.
- malwrar 2y ago
  > As a simple example, why would Amazon not immediately sell ebook versions of every book ever if copyright ended? Why would I even use Amazon in this scenario? > there'd be no incentive to make them. People do make stuff for reasons other than money you know. We might see less shows, but certainly shows of higher quality, originality, and passion. I’ve witnessed the opposite shift myself on several occasions, when creative communities I participated in suddenly found monetization (online videos, game mods, etc). Suddenly there’s much more junk from people trying to cash in. There’s a reason artists make fun of sellouts!
  - dmonitor 2y ago
    There's a middle ground that needs to be reached. I also know too many artists in creative communities that are forced into menial labor because they can't monetize their work enough to pay the bills.
  - delecti 2y ago
    > Why would I even use Amazon in this scenario? The point isn't "Amazon", it's "insert ebook distribution platform". If you prefer you can just as easily mentally substitute Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Apple Books, Pirate Bay, or "ebooks123 (dot) biz". And sure, there'd be writing, but not "authors". There'd be movies, but nothing with an appreciable budget. Plenty of big budget movies suck, but that doesn't mean I'd rather they not exist as a category.
- jjk166 2y ago
  Why would anyone buy an ebook from Amazon in this world where books are free? There are lots of things produced without a copyright-like legal structure that gives retained property rights.
  - delecti 2y ago
    It was just an example. Without copyright, ebooks would pretty immediately be free, so why "buy" any book? And what do you mean by "retained property rights" over the contents of a book, such that it isn't just renaming copyright?
    - jjk166 2y ago
      Retained property rights are property rights which continue to exist for an extended period after some initial transaction. So copyright lets creators control their work long after it is initially published. Similarly patents let inventors retain control over their inventions, leases allow landlords to retain control over real estate, etc. But you could easily have a book commissioned where an author gets a lump sum on publication and then has no control of the work afterwards, the same way you can buy a house instead of renting it. Most things you buy do not have retained property rights, and indeed that's typically what buying something implicitly refers to.
dmonitor 2y ago
Copyright still serves an important function (without any copyright, the companies with access to physical media creation would trivially steal from smaller ones) but 70-100yrs is an absurd amount of time that only benefits century old publishers.

As a simple example, why would Amazon not immediately sell ebook versions of every book ever if copyright ended? Ditto for adding every movie and show to every streaming service, meaning there'd be no incentive to make them. Copyright is way too long, but it's not worthless.

malwrar 2y ago
> As a simple example, why would Amazon not immediately sell ebook versions of every book ever if copyright ended? Why would I even use Amazon in this scenario? > there'd be no incentive to make them. People do make stuff for reasons other than money you know. We might see less shows, but certainly shows of higher quality, originality, and passion. I’ve witnessed the opposite shift myself on several occasions, when creative communities I participated in suddenly found monetization (online videos, game mods, etc). Suddenly there’s much more junk from people trying to cash in. There’s a reason artists make fun of sellouts!
- dmonitor 2y ago
  There's a middle ground that needs to be reached. I also know too many artists in creative communities that are forced into menial labor because they can't monetize their work enough to pay the bills.
- delecti 2y ago
  > Why would I even use Amazon in this scenario? The point isn't "Amazon", it's "insert ebook distribution platform". If you prefer you can just as easily mentally substitute Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Apple Books, Pirate Bay, or "ebooks123 (dot) biz". And sure, there'd be writing, but not "authors". There'd be movies, but nothing with an appreciable budget. Plenty of big budget movies suck, but that doesn't mean I'd rather they not exist as a category.
jjk166 2y ago
Why would anyone buy an ebook from Amazon in this world where books are free? There are lots of things produced without a copyright-like legal structure that gives retained property rights.
- delecti 2y ago
  It was just an example. Without copyright, ebooks would pretty immediately be free, so why "buy" any book? And what do you mean by "retained property rights" over the contents of a book, such that it isn't just renaming copyright?
  - jjk166 2y ago
    Retained property rights are property rights which continue to exist for an extended period after some initial transaction. So copyright lets creators control their work long after it is initially published. Similarly patents let inventors retain control over their inventions, leases allow landlords to retain control over real estate, etc. But you could easily have a book commissioned where an author gets a lump sum on publication and then has no control of the work afterwards, the same way you can buy a house instead of renting it. Most things you buy do not have retained property rights, and indeed that's typically what buying something implicitly refers to.

dmonitor 2y ago

Copyright still serves an important function (without any copyright, the companies with access to physical media creation would trivially steal from smaller ones) but 70-100yrs is an absurd amount of time that only benefits century old publishers.