Re: Copyright Extension, Harmonization

At 11:31 AM 4/12/96 -0500, you wrote:
>
> Christopher Hyun writes:
>>
>> The old works' importance in the creation of valuable new works
>> underscores that these old works *are* still of great value in the
>> marketplace, which is counter to earlier arguments that the old works
>> have little or de minimus value anymore and should be left to fall into
>> the public domain at life+50 (while EU works have already been given
>> life+70 copyright terms).
>>
>***********
>
> This argument seems to assume, like many of the "copyright as property"
> arguments I have seen, that the right thing to do is to allow copyright
> owners to appropriate to themselves every last bit of value to their
> creation. I think this approach is inconsistent with competition, the
> rule which normally prevails in a capitalist marketplace. Copyright is
> an exception to the general rule of free competition; an exception
> designed to serve a particular purpose (promoting the creation and
> dissemination of new works). I think giving the great grandchildren of
> authors rights to control any works based even in part on the author
> does little if anything to serve that purpose, and does quite a bit to
> inhibit it.
>
> Mark Lemley
> Assistant Professor, University of Texas School of Law
> Of Counsel, Fish & Richardson, P.C.
> mlemley[_at_]mail.law.utexas.edu

To the extent that copyright is to encourage creation, then the value should be examined at the time of creation. When reduced to present value, that increment beyond life plus 50 is so close to zero as to be meaningless. Additionally, when viewing how few works have any value even 5 or 10 years after creation, the increased value of any work as yet untested by the market would be even less than that and so would not affect a publisher's ration decision to publish the work or not. In effect, all an extension would do is give a windfall to the current holders of about-to-die assets to the detriment of any would-be readers or creators of derivative works.

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     Buford C. Terrell                             1303 San Jacinto
     Professor of Law                             Houston, TX 77002
     South Texas College of Law                 voice (713)646-1857
     terrell[_at_]stcl.edu                             fax (713)646-1677
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