Dragaera

Artificial release dates and online publishing

Mon Dec 16 21:48:18 PST 2002

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joshua Kronengold" <mneme at io.com>
To: <dragaera at dragaera.info>
Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 12:39 AM
Subject: Re: Artificial release dates and online publishing


> David Dyer-Bennet writes:
> >Joshua Kronengold <mneme at io.com> writes:
> >> The point is that fixing copyright to anyone's lifespan is ludicrous
> >> unless you think the possibility of someone writing a parody or fanfic
> >> (or even commercial variant on same) is a tragedy.  And as much as it
> >> might feel like one (just like, say, a negative review), it's not --
> >> it's just a thing.
> >Parody is protected fair use, so that's not at issue.  Most fanfic
> >*is* a tragedy.  The better fanfic is a tragedy *twice* (they should
> >have been writing something original).
>
> Eh.  Nothing completely original is worth reading.  Everything else is
> a matter of degree.

Very little is totally original anyway.

> >I don't see how I can protect the creators rights if the creator can
> >be forced to sit by and watch people totally pervert his creation.
>
> What rights?  If someone can pervert your creation deliberately, by
> parody, what's left that's worse?
>
> Misrepresentation?  That's covered by libel -- if you put an author's
> name on the cover of something without permission and don't explain
> how you've changed their work, you're open to libel, methinks (if
> they're still alive, anyway).
>
> Someone else making money off your work?  It's going to happen
> eventually; the key is to making sure you make your share (which for
> most works will be a lion's share with or without lifetime
> copyrights).

You won't make a penny if your rights expire one year after they make a
movie from your work.
And they'll probably time it that way too...
Damn, that would be frustrating to LIVE through.

What other protection would an author have in a case like that?

<snip parody>

> >> Without that, a lifetime-based copyright is just a sop to genius 18
> >> year olders, and a punishment to 80 year olders, who can't necessarily
> >> sell their works for as much...and a means of keeping works out of the
> >> public domain for 0-70 years longer than they would otherwise be.
> >I'd guess anything over life+10 would give old people the same prices
> >on their work.
>
> Except that the same arguments against "lifetime" apply here -- if
> their book gains popularity, and sequels/movie rights are in the
> offing, the heirs are taking a serious hit, whereas with a fixed term,
> they've got the same chances everyone else does.

This isn't about chances, it's about authors having power over, and
benefiting from,  their work while they're alive.

<snip lifespan increasing stuff>

-Scott