Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
That's tricky, because there are too many extenuating circumstances, including the rights of the artist. If I create a novel, copyright it, then decide to sit on it for 20 years, why should you be granted the right to just take it from me?
I can't see how availability can be fairly applied to copyright... copyright gives the owner the right to decide how their product is used (or, by extension, not used). Either it is copywritten for a period of time, or it's not.
Sure, it sucks when a product could be made available and isn't... but within copyright, as all laws governing possession, there's really nothing that can be done about that. If I actually owned the Mona Lisa, I could lock it up in my basement, and no law could make me unlock that room for others to see it.
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If a work has been published it is available - but visiting the British Museum/Library of Congress is (or may be) difficult. I would suggest that if a work has been published and is now out of print/unavailable there should be a right to make a copy, with a reasonable fixed fee owing to the copyright holder (if (s)he can be located).
James