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GA Russell · 10-23-2010, 04:24 PM

Xenophon, it seems to me that your cases of the author-late-in-life and the widows and orphans fund fail not because they are not logical, but because the author receives only a small percentage of the sale price, with the retailer and publisher retaining most of the cash.

I believe that the defense of copyright is a moral one, and that the argument for it is weak if it is based upon sympathy for someone who is not the primary beneficiary.

Let me suggest this solution. It would be possible for Congress to pass a law that calls for an end to the publisher's monopoly (as public domain would) upon the death of the author, but would nevertheless require the heirs to receive a stated percentage of whatever gross income any publisher receives from the publication of the work.

This would allow publishers to enter the field and publish works currently overpriced or not in print, and would allow heirs to receive part of the cash, if any, that was being exchanged for the work.

10-23-2010, 04:24 PM	#385
GA Russell Stamps beat Riders Posts: 7,698 Karma: 31487351 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	Xenophon, it seems to me that your cases of the author-late-in-life and the widows and orphans fund fail not because they are not logical, but because the author receives only a small percentage of the sale price, with the retailer and publisher retaining most of the cash. I believe that the defense of copyright is a moral one, and that the argument for it is weak if it is based upon sympathy for someone who is not the primary beneficiary. Let me suggest this solution. It would be possible for Congress to pass a law that calls for an end to the publisher's monopoly (as public domain would) upon the death of the author, but would nevertheless require the heirs to receive a stated percentage of whatever gross income any publisher receives from the publication of the work. This would allow publishers to enter the field and publish works currently overpriced or not in print, and would allow heirs to receive part of the cash, if any, that was being exchanged for the work.