[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

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.

What percentage goes to which entity varies all over the map. Consider the variance between the author who signed a truly stupid "screw-em-like-the-big-record-labels-do" contract (on one end), and the self-published-so-I-get-all-the-dough author on the other. The moral issue remains the same in all cases (IMHO).

Originally Posted by GA Russell

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.

Sympathy? I s'pose. I'm really intending, however, to argue on the basis of my self-interest, your self-interest, the author's self-interest and the hypothetical "self-interest" of "society" (whoever that is). The fact that the revenue stream continues for some period after the author's death increases the present value of producing additional works. Plain and simple.

Originally Posted by GA Russell

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.

A change along those lines could be made to work. I note, however, that this is no different from the statutory mandatory licensing that we see in the US for broadcasting a song on the radio (for example). The broadcaster need not ask permission, but must pay a fixed fee per use.

My approach was to suggest moving works into PD more quickly, by letting a registration requirement stand in as a proxy for continued commercial interest. If it has commercial value, the copyright owner will pay a modest fee to maintain the copyright. If they don't, it becomes PD now rather than decades from now.

Xenophon