07-07-2013, 06:24 PM | #1 | |
Recovering reader
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How Copyright Makes Books and Music Disappear
More food for thought
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07-07-2013, 07:58 PM | #2 |
Groupie
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I'm about to publish my third book. Why would I not want it copyrighted? Writing, proofing, and editing a novel takes a very large effort. Why would anyone take on such a task without copyright protection?
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07-07-2013, 07:59 PM | #3 | |
Wizard
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Using Amazon as an example of books available for sale might be a little bit suspect academically.
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I have been in a lot of bookstores, both new and used and have yet to see one that books originally published 75 years ago outnumber newer works. I am sure they exist as specialty shops, but are probably few and far between. And how many of these random books are physical books. Anyone can sell a public domain ebook on Amazon at little or no cost. At least with an paper book, there is an real cost to publish it. Basically the gist of the article is that if the book is free more people will try and exploit it. Nothing really wrong with that any more than other forms of legal exploitation such as selling something way above market price to people to stupid to know better. Not something I would do or approve of, but not my decision to make. Caveat Emptor. If the author of the article is referring to a truly random sample of new paper books, which I strongly doubt, than at least he has a somewhat shaky platform to stand on. If he is referring to ebooks, as 'new' simply because all ebooks can be termed 'new' or 'not used' than IMO he is just talking to hear himself and should be laughed out of town. And saying that books disappear and are lost is contradicted several times in this paper, as many of the 1923 and earlier works came back into existence on Amazon at least in tremendous numbers according to him. Helen |
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07-07-2013, 09:02 PM | #4 | |
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I do believe that eBooks (even more than print books) published before the US copyright cut-off of January 1, 1923 are more widely available than those published in the first several decades after. It's not just best-sellers that become unavailable after the cutoff, but also many Pulitzer prize winners. This indicates to me that US copyright is currently too long. P.S. For example, there are post-1922 works of Winston S. Churchill unavailable as eBooks, and also out of print. One is The World Crisis (1923-31, 6 volumes). Every book Churchill published before 1923 is at gutenberg.com. Last edited by SteveEisenberg; 07-07-2013 at 09:37 PM. |
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07-07-2013, 11:48 PM | #5 | |
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Here's my favorite cover, BTW: |
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07-08-2013, 10:24 AM | #6 |
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07-08-2013, 10:51 AM | #7 |
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As I can't see the full article, I'll respond to the quote.
It seems the number of public domain vs. copyrighted works is likely skewed by the fact that any one can (and does) publish PD works. For popular authors (Dickens, Austen, etc) there can be dozens, if not hundreds, of editions available. If filtered simply for in-print/out-of-print, and eliminating multiple editions, I think the gap would close significantly. I still think PD would be a significant portion, but not such an overwhelming majority. At least that's my gut reaction. Someone with the time and data crunching inclinations could prove me wrong. |
07-08-2013, 11:10 AM | #8 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
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07-08-2013, 11:18 AM | #9 | |
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-- Bill |
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07-08-2013, 11:22 AM | #10 | |
Wizard
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Helen |
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07-08-2013, 10:04 PM | #11 | |
cacoethes scribendi
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07-08-2013, 10:23 PM | #12 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steambo...pyright_status Could Disney still sue for copying Steamboat Willie? Sure. And they might win today. But as for further extending copyright, I think the SOPA defeat last year shows the netizens are now too strong for that. |
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07-09-2013, 09:29 AM | #13 |
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The current copyright period is waaaay too long. The public interest is in no way served by life + 70. It's ludicrous. Just look at the whole William Faulkner debacle. The man's been dead for 50 years, god rest his soul.
I only get paid for the work I do once, and that's it. If I want to get paid again, I have to do more work. Obviously it's different with artists, but c'mon, I think 50 years - a whole half century! - is more than fair. Can you imagine, the Beatles catalog would be coming into the public domain. Obviously, the powers that be will never let that happen. Last edited by usuallee; 07-09-2013 at 09:32 AM. |
07-09-2013, 09:44 AM | #14 | |
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Quote:
http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/c...ks-study-finds |
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07-09-2013, 10:31 AM | #15 |
Philosopher
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I don't think there is any chance of copyright terms being reduced, but it is still possible to keep copyright from being extended indefinitely. Advocates of eternal copyright like to point to Mark Twain's objection to copyright periods, but when he was writing, copyright had a maximum term of 42 years from publication, now it is life+70. If we had eternal copyright, he couldn't have written A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
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