|
It's been said before by others in this thread, but I'm going to say it again and hope that it sinks in this time.
NOT EVERYONE IN FAVOR OF A SHORTENED COPYRIGHT IS LOOKING FOR FREE BOOKS
I'm in favor of shortened copyrights because there are a number of books that I would like to have in e-format that aren't available because of copyright, and some that aren't available to buy new at all from anywhere. (before someone says that my preferences don't matter, I "prefer" e format because it's almost impossible for me to read a paper book anymore)
Some of the books I'm talking about are still available in print, and some aren't. With some of the books, the authors don't want to put in e-format, and in that case, I have no argument--the work DOES and SHOULD belong to the author. In some it's because of publishing houses not wanting to go to the expense or hassle of re-printing or publishing backlist books electronically. In that case, copyright should be forfeit. If the publisher is the copyright holder, and they refuse to publish, the rights should revert to the author. If the author isn't alive, then the rights default to the author's heirs. If the heirs refuse to re-publish a work, the work goes into the public domain (after all, the argument is that the heirs should get the monetary benefit, right?)
I'm sure that there are LOTS of people who only care about copyright/public domain because they're looking for free books. I'm not one of them. I just want all books to be made available to buy. Right now, the overwhelming majority of sci-fi from the forties and fifties (the golden age) is not available under any circumstances. (This applies to many other genres too, I'm sure, but for my selfish purposes, golden age sci-fi is mainly what I'm looking for)
Shari
|