Re: actuaries and copyright extension

> Paul Heald:

>> 
>>     So, what's the 20-year extension all about?  Imposing 20 more 
>> years of monopoly costs on consumers without any countervailing 
>> public benefit.  

Is there an assumption here that the only producers/consumers involved are those who sell/purchase copyrighted writings which will "go out of style" in 20 years or so? From the point of view of a consumer who purchases rights to visual objects (video, film, photographs, etc.), the current copyright law is a huge pain in the ___ because it is very difficult to determine who holds the rights at ANY given point in time. There are no publishing houses or central repositories (excluding the National Archieves, the commercial networks, and a few museums) to maintain an active, long-term interest in this kind of copyright value. Most heirs/subsequent purchasers/devisees don't know what they've got, much less it's value. An additional 20 years of going through searches on these grounds will be agonizing. There will definitely be detriment to a number of people/organizations but it doesn't follow that there is incentive unless there is the possibility of income on a very large scale.

Jayne Sebby
jsebby[_at_]unlinfo.unl.edu
Nebraska ETV Received on Thu Apr 18 1996 - 21:41:13 GMT