Re: droit de suite

On 04/07/2000, Pat Sloane <patsloane[_at_]aol.com> wrote:
>
> On 04/07/2000, Eric Eldred <eldred[_at_]eldritchpress.org> wrote:
> >
> > The fact that the copyright term extension makes it impossible
> > to preserve old material is exactly one of the reasons the Eldred
> > v Reno suit was filed.
>
> The fact is that active preservations efforts are ongoing, and a
> major problem is lack of funds, not copyright law. A pity you
> weren't aware of this before you filed. But you may luck out if
> the other side neglects to mention this. As a taxpayer, I don't
> like to see the courts clogged with litigation-happy people who
> don't take time to get their facts straight before they sue. But
> the courts have so many problems, maybe this is not among the more
> important.

I agree with Eric. Even with enormous effort and unlimited funds, it is inevitable that for some works, every existing copy will be irretrievable lost or destroyed due to the lapse of time.

> > Now that the Copyright Office no longer tracks ownership and
> > transfers, we who seek to reprint must rely on the good graces of
> > the publishers to find the rightsholders.
>
> Why aren't you using the search facilities at the library of congress?

Not all transfers of copyright interests are recorded. I recall that an unrecorded transfer would still have legal effect, as long as there is not a conflicting recorded transfer.

Theodora Michaels
<tmichaels[_at_]carlinamerica.com> Received on Mon Apr 10 2000 - 20:20:19 GMT