Petition to reduce US copyright to 28 years

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

Right now, there is virtually no enforcement of book copyrights. By contrast, a big chunk of my home property taxes go to pay for township police, prosecutors, and the county jail in which a substantial number of small-time burglars and shoplifters are locked up. Are you suggesting that book copyright holder pay the government to defend intellectual property the way it defends the physical property of rate-payers?

I would rather keep the enforcement at a low level and mostly in the hands of copyright holders themselves, who are free to sue pirates, with losers paying court costs. Governmental action against pirates should exist, but be minimal, and attempt to self-finance through fines -- no jail.

It would only be fair to charge a copyright property tax if the police are going to protect intellectual property the way they protect physical property. And that would be too extreme.

I am not advocating any particular level of copyright enforcement. I'm merely describing a problem with the copyright system, as currently implemented.

Currently, ISP's are being dragooned into being the enforcers, for free. The government isn't paying for the notice and notice, or 3 strikes, ect. Nor are the copyright holders. They feel entitled to free (to them) enforcement, and then complain it isn't good enough.

But even if we aren't talking about enforcement costs, one of the main reasons for property taxes, (rarely spoken of) is to force property to be economically used, not merely hoarded. If you want to hoard real property, you have to pay for the priviledge. Otherwise it goes back to the public domain.

(Yes, folks there is land in the US that is in the public domain. It's a complex issue, because it is still politically under the US Federal jurisdiction. That makes it "owned" by the US Government, by default. But if you want some (160 acres), you can have it by 1. Squatting on it for 5 years. 2. Filing a claim for it. and 3. Making certain prescribed improvments. (A fence around the land, a house, some others). Complete the process, and it's yours! Complete with all the property taxes you property has to pay...It's called the Homestead Act of 1862. You can't squat on just any federal property, the government itself has formal claim to lots of property, all of that is not subject to The Homestead Act, just whatever the US Government doesn't want, either...)

[MidnightBlue]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I have found this petition at petitions.whitehouse.gov to reduce the term of copyright in the US to 28 years.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov//pe...years/Z7skGfKk

How much notice would the powers that be take of a small petition? This whole thing seems to be little more than a storm in a teacup.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by MidnightBlue

How much notice would the powers that be take of a small petition? This whole thing seems to be little more than a storm in a teacup.

Any petition on whitehouse.gov that gets 25,000 signatures in the allotted time (a month, I think) requires an official response--the officials don't have to agree to go along with it, but they do have to compose a formal reply explaining what they are or aren't doing about it.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Any petition on whitehouse.gov that gets 25,000 signatures in the allotted time (a month, I think) requires an official response--the officials don't have to agree to go along with it, but they do have to compose a formal reply explaining what they are or aren't doing about it.

All they would say, I imagine, is that to reduce copyright to 28 years wouldn't be permitted by the Berne Convention.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by HarryT

All they would say, I imagine, is that to reduce copyright to 28 years wouldn't be permitted by the Berne Convention.

Very likely. But there might be an admission that copyright length is obviously very important to a lot of people, and they'll be looking into legislation to support that awareness.

They might (hah, I can dream) say that they'll consider changing the US rules from L+70 to L+50. I'd love it if they just changed the corporate rules to "50 years after publication" instead of the current 95.

I don't think it matters much--I think the orphan/hostage works problem has gotten well-known enough that the media corps won't be able to get copyright extended, and in a few more years, The Mouse drops into the public domain. At that point, Disney has assured us, the apocalypse is upon us; all of Western civilization will explode into porn and riots. At least, that's the impression I got from their legal filings.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Western civilization will explode into porn and riots.

And there is probably a down-side, too.

[QuantumIguana]

If copyright is not extended, Steamboat Willie will enter the public domain. That would mean that people would be able to distribute it without permission. But Disney has a trademark on Mickey Mouse, so people would be unable to create new works with Mickey Mouse. And even if it wasn't for the trademark, it's important to note that only the earliest representations of Mickey Mouse would enter the public domain, later representations, which look more like what we are used to, would take longer to enter the public domain.

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Very likely. But there might be an admission that copyright length is obviously very important to a lot of people, and they'll be looking into legislation to support that awareness.

They might (hah, I can dream) say that they'll consider changing the US rules from L+70 to L+50. I'd love it if they just changed the corporate rules to "50 years after publication" instead of the current 95.

I don't think it matters much--I think the orphan/hostage works problem has gotten well-known enough that the media corps won't be able to get copyright extended, and in a few more years, The Mouse drops into the public domain. At that point, Disney has assured us, the apocalypse is upon us; all of Western civilization will explode into porn and riots. At least, that's the impression I got from their legal filings.

This is a bad thing?

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

V
I don't think it matters much--I think the orphan/hostage works problem has gotten well-known enough that the media corps won't be able to get copyright extended, and in a few more years, The Mouse drops into the public domain. At that point, Disney has assured us, the apocalypse is upon us; all of Western civilization will explode into porn and riots. At least, that's the impression I got from their legal filings.

I don't think so, myself. I think they've extended it to the point you can only see things from so far before you were born, there isn't a public pressure on it at all. Not enough to matter. Only way I see a turnaround is when the Supreme Court finally decides enough is enough. Until then I think they'll continue to extend it indefinitely.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

If copyright is not extended, Steamboat Willie will enter the public domain. That would mean that people would be able to distribute it without permission. But Disney has a trademark on Mickey Mouse, so people would be unable to create new works with Mickey Mouse. And even if it wasn't for the trademark, it's important to note that only the earliest representations of Mickey Mouse would enter the public domain, later representations, which look more like what we are used to, would take longer to enter the public domain.

There are good arguments that Mickey Mouse is already public domain, and has been for many years, either due to an incorrect copyright notice, or publication without a copyright notice.