Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
If you read carefully you may notice that I'm not arguing for a further copyright extension, I'm looking for ways to make the argument against extension more effective. So I wasn't "limiting" the value to money, I was suggesting that finding/defining a financial value is more likely to be an effective counter for financial ones arguing for further extensions.
A few things have changed in the last few hundred years. More people have access to the public domain for a start, and ebooks and ventures like Project Gutenberg have increased that access even more. The accessibility arguments (ability to access the material in forms suitable for various disabilities) presented by people here are also factors that could perhaps be valued in monetary terms. I'm not sure how many fan-fiction authors there were a hundred years ago, but I know there are a lot now. Also movie rights and other forms of derivation from original works all have at least a potential monetary value that could be estimated. Give a dollar value to counter a dollar value. That doesn't take away from the less tangible benefits of the public domain, but the tangible values are less easy to dismiss or reduce in importance.
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I have read carefully (except the really long posts. I don't have time to read those,) but the thread is long and I'm not yet familiar with all the screen names. I apologize for not knowing your position.
You might be right about the money argument being more effective, or you might be wrong and it will backfire. I'm afraid that the "tangible" benefits argument will play into the hands of the imaginary property army. It is their metier, after all.
rjb