Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
Oooh, I like that one! - Copyright a work: free, happens automatically on placing it in a fixed format (like a printout).
- 10 years later: register it for $10. Do this for anything that might remotely be publishable, including the fanzine you printed six copies of; your high school homework assignments fall into the public domain.
- 20 years later: Re-register for $100. Currently in-production stuff, and anything you have a good reason to believe will be commercially viable. This is the "hedge your bets" stage--if you guess wrong, you're not out much.
- 30 years later: Re-register for $1000. Only do this for books, movies, music currently in production and selling well. Out-of-print stuff only if you've got a buyer already lined up.
- 40 years later: Re-register for $10,000. Only major publishing houses and movie distributors bother with this level. (Will Harry Potter be a viable commercial property in 2037?)
- 50 years later: Disney registers Mickey for $100,000. Microsoft does the same with Windows OS. Everything else drops into the public domain.
The extra money (beyond what it takes to process the copyrights, including a public-access registry) can go into an "arts and sciences progress" fund. |
Actually, you hardly even need to attach an ever-increasing price. Simply requiring re-registration would let
most works fall quickly into the public domain. I must admit, however, that extracting large sums from Disney for the privilege of continuing their control of Mickey does rather tickle my fancy.
An alternative might be to have a much-decreased duration of copyright, while slightly expanding trademark protection to cover things like Mickey. This would let Disney continue to control
new works involving Mickey while still letting "Steamboat Mickey" into the public domain.
Xenophon