New Bill to Limit Copyright to 56 Years, Would be Retroactive

[Dannyalcatraz]

No, I don’t.

I speak as though I’m proposing that the greatest need to shorten copyright lies with corporations, and it is entirely possible to do so without screwing over small creators.

Copyrights currently get transferred from creators to businesses back to creators and other successors in interest, like friends, families and charities. Some IP creators produce their works for businesses they own.

My church’s music director did this. His compositions and recordings are owned by his record label.

IOW, in the current regime, changing what IP rights corporations can have and transfer perforce affects what rights others can have, including the crea themselves.

Nothing you’ve said makes me any less inclined to believe the above.

We are clearly far apart on this, yes.

 

[trappedslider]

Licensing issues have created issues for many projects I know. One of the most famous ones I can think of is the original Heavy Metal movie and it’s soundtrack.

And the years-long struggle to get WKRP on DvD with its original soundtrack and music. Along with a few popular shows from the 90s that had music from the same decade.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The Youtube takedown thing has been out of control since its inception. There are musicians/composers who have received copyright strikes for posting their own original works, because they are those works, and it has been a nightmare for them to have the strikes removed.

I put a lot of that down to YouTube not investing in the personnel required to ascertain the difference between legit and bogus claims.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

And the years-long struggle to get WKRP on DvD with its original soundtrack and music. Along with a few popular shows from the 90s that had music from the same decade.

It took 32 years to get the DVDs released, yes. But the series was available on VHS in 1998- 16 years after the series ended. The basic licensing issues had been resolved at that point.

The hitch was that DVDs became a commercial product in 1995. And there was a BIG fight over how royalties were going to be calculated on the new tech.. Same kinds of fights occurred when cassettes were introduced, and CDs, DATs, and LaserDiscs, too. Ditto all the various non-physical electronic formats like mp3s, .wav files, pdf and so forth.

That’s because all these royalty calculations have clauses about compensation rates for “new”, “experimental”, etc. technologies.

 

[trappedslider]

It took 32 years to get the DVDs released, yes. But the series was available on VHS in 1998- 16 years after the series ended. The basic licensing issues had been resolved at that point.

The hitch was that DVDs became a commercial product in 1995. And there was a BIG fight over how royalties were going to be calculated on the new tech.. Same kinds of fights occurred when cassettes were introduced, and CDs, DATs, and LaserDiscs, too. Ditto all the various non-physical electronic formats like mp3s, .wav files, pdf and so forth.

That’s because all these royalty calculations have clauses about compensation rates for “new”, “experimental”, etc. technologies.

Yeah, I remember that shout factory did release the DvDs but fans were not happy without the original music. I know the Sabrina the Teenage Witch series also doesn't have the original music, which makes me sad, so I didn't get it when I saw it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Yeah, I remember that shout factory did release the DvDs but fans were not happy without the original music. I know the Sabrina the Teenage Witch series also doesn't have the original music, which makes me sad, so I didn't get it when I saw it.

On the one hand, it’s clear that the copyright holders of the licensed music- both individuals and other corporations- hold some serious trump cards in this game. But that IS part of the reason why copyright exists.

And to be honest, sometimes, people’s opinions on what and how their IP gets licensed change- sometimes radically. Same goes fo successors in interest. Individuals AND corporations other than the original IP creators have granted or ended licenses worth fortunes.

 

[Ryujin]

I put a lot of that down to YouTube not investing in the personnel required to ascertain the difference between legit and bogus claims.

Oh, it's definitely a Youtube problem. Some have had strikes automatically placed against them by the algorithm, without an external request. Others have had copyright claims placed against them by major record labels, who have no claim at all on the work (self published).

 

[trappedslider]

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Copyrights currently get transferred from creators to businesses back to creators and other successors in interest, like friends, families and charities. Some IP creators produce their works for businesses they own.

Yes, I think it's safe to assume that everyone is aware of this. If copyright were set up differently, those creators would simply manage their creations differently. You haven't established any benefit to society from it being set up the way it is.

My church’s music director did this. His compositions and recordings are owned by his record label.

IOW, in the current regime, changing what IP rights corporations can have and transfer perforce affects what rights others can have, including the crea themselves.

Yes. Just as the current regime has an effect on the rights of creators. There is no options that doesn't.

We are clearly far apart on this, yes.

Sure. When I publish my own IP, very soon, it will be under a creative commons license, and my will will include the release of that IP into the public domain, because I believe that it is actively unethical to do otherwise.

 

[Cadence]

Sure. When I publish my own IP, very soon, it will be under a creative commons license, and my will will include the release of that IP into the public domain, because I believe that it is actively unethical to do otherwise.

How did you pay any of the artists or editors or other contributors, or support yourself while you made it?

Edit: "my will" are two important words there. Doh! As noted below I missed them when asking this.