[pwalker8]

One of the running discussions that spans a number of threads is the idea of public domain and eternal copyright, i.e. the idea that copyright is a personal property right of the original author and is passed down to his or her heirs for eternity.

Obviously this discussion can go into the various legalities of copyright, derivative works (in some countries derivative works are not covered under copyright, in others they are) and the like, but that's not really what I want to focus on. Instead I want to focus on two ideas. The first being that when a work goes into public domain, anyone can make a copy and the second the idea of new works using the characters or universe of a previous work.

To my mind, the real value of the idea that anyone can make a copy of a work once it goes into public domain is that works remain available to everyone well after they are commercially profitable. Most books go out of print within a few years of publication and disappear from view. Frequently, the author has either abandoned writing, or died. Now, I have no issue with paying for a book, I simply have an issue with not having the book available. For those who dismiss the idea that a book should be available, I say, then what is the purpose of copyright if not to assure that books exist?

In a way, this particular discussion is well hashed. Copyright terms is basically driven by those rare works that retain a high commercial value over the years. The works of Tolkien, Dumas (the father of the idea of long term copyright) and such. If it weren't for such works, the US would still have a 28 year copyright and each year might see a resurgence in interest in formally obscure authors as they come into public domain and become available again.

It's the idea of derivative works that I find a bit more interesting. One of the little secrets out there is there is already a huge body of derivative works out there based on a wide range of books or series of books. It's called FanFic. For the most part, copyright holders politely don't notice FanFic as long as they are not required to notice it for legal reasons. Quite a few mention in passing that some of the FanFic can be quite good. I've seen a number of authors who mention that they got their start in FanFic. Basically, it seems that the rule of thumb is that as long as you aren't trying to make money at it, or do something the copyright holder considers highly offensive (the idea of Mickey Mouse porn is one of the reasons trotted out to support long lasting copyrights), most authors don't have an issue with it.

The other branch of derived works that is licensed books. This is the whole Star Wars, Star Trek, shared worlds such as Thieves World or Wild Cards, industry. You see short story compilations based on a successful novel or series of novels all the time - John Ringo's zombie universe, David Weber's Honorverse, the Harold Shea universe, the list goes on and on. These books actually prove the point of why there is value in derivative works.

There is a mass of commercially successful books written by a lesser known author based on books written by highly successful authors. We still see books (and TV series) based on books originally written by Tom Clancy, Edger Rice Burroughs (Tarzan), Robert Howard (Conan the Barbarian) and H.P. Lovecraft (I'm the proud owner of a Cthulhu for president, why settle for the lesser of two evils? T-shirt) among others.