Thread: Absolute must-read in the copyright wars
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Old 12-08-2009, 11:02 PM   #59
Kali Yuga
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DawnFalcon View Post
They'd just use precisely what they already do - NDA's. Contract law can and does provide the vast majority of the protection already-in-place.
No, it can't.

Let's say we eliminate all copyright. The process is completely and absolutely eliminated, all content can be reproduced at will.

An author sends an unsolicited manuscript to an agent; the agent then takes it to the publisher, they edit it, publish it, and refuse to pay the author anything. Another publisher sees that the book is selling well, so they translate it into German and sell it internationally. Again, they refuse to pay the author or original publisher anything. No contracts were signed, so the author has no protection.

Then, a director reads the book and thinks it will make a great movie. Since there's no copyright, she does not need the author's permission to make a movie; she does not have to pay for the rights; and she doesn't have to make any contracts with anyone. So she makes a movie, and doesn't need to pay the author a single cent. Next thing you know, there are 20 "Lord of the Ring" movies, including one in Esperanto and two set in the Star Wars universe.

Now let's say someone early in the process (the author, the agent, the publisher) isn't happy about all this, so next time around they slap some DRM on it and say that anyone who wants to read "their" book(s) has to sign a contract that prevents the reader from distributing the book for the life of the author plus 100 years. If that becomes the norm, then the public is right back in the same situation as it is now. You might even lose MORE rights, as the publisher might stipulate longer contract terms and insist that you cannot reproduce the content for any reason whatsoever, including parodies and fair use and backups. If you lose your copy, then it sucks to be you and you can go buy another copy.

So, got any other suggestions?
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