Quote:
Originally Posted by Lemurion
What has the public domain to do with this situation?
The book in question won't enter the public domain for some ridiculous and ungodly number of years.
(Yes, I think copyright terms are far too long.)
Also - I think everyone who is advising authors to self-publish or follow other non-traditional paths should try to remember that the only people who really make money with self-published fiction are those who have already made a name with commercially published books.
As for the idea of "punishing authors," that sounds positively juvenile.
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Agreed. Including that we need changes in the copyright laws.
But to bring this back on topic, the primary issue here is the author and their creative work. No one, and I mean NO ONE gets to decide what that author does with that work provided it falls within the current legal framework.
Iphinome can rant and rave all he wants about things not being "right" but he is simply wrong. The prevailing law says what is right and if he think it needs changing then he should be working to change it instead of ranting and raving and whining about things here.
The author can always decide what to do with their works. That includes making "unreasonable" demands from publishers such as retaining electronic rights. Now this may mean that the book will never see print, but that is a decision that each author must (and this is increasingly true in the current climate) make for themselves. The authors are the ones in the best place to force the change and many beginning writers (unfortunately) are pretty much willing to take whatever is offered and in so doing the current regime will remain in power. Authors like Cory Doctorow and others will eventually change the system, but it is still many years (decades?) away.
In this particular case the author did nothing wrong. There were no promises made about the book being available forever and those that assume that are simply wrong. The situation as I understand it was that readers "paid" to keep the author writing and to get the next installment -- just like Charles Dickens.
No was there any promise from this author or any law that puts the work in the public domain.
Not only that I don't think it is nearly as big a deal in "fan relations" as many are making it.