Re: copyright expiration as a spur to creativity

Michael Scarpitti <mscarpit[_at_]asnt.org> wrote:
>
> On 29, July 1998, Robert Cumbow <cumbr[_at_]perkinscoie.com> wrote:
> >
> > Mike Bradley <michael[_at_]vision-soft.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Bob Cumbow <cumbr[_at_]perkinscoie.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > If a copyright owner decides to take a previously-published work
> > > > out of print, he does not lose his copyright, but he does lose the
> > > > right to obtain damages for infringement of the work during the
> > > > time it is unavailable.
> > >
> > > Oh, come on. This and the even worse loss-of-copyright proposal
> > > would be intolerable to creators. An author cannot force a publisher
> > > to keep his/her book in print. You're saying that while an author
> > > is looking for a new market for a book, anyone can copy and publish
> > > any part of it freely? And this as a spur to creativity?
> >
> > Mr Bradley makes a good point. We have been looking at this
> > hypothetical narrowly, as a means of giving the public access to a work
> > even when a publisher has denied such access by allowing the book to go
> > out of print. But we have forgotten the author, who certainly shouldn't
> > lose royalties merely because his publisher shelved his book. What, I
> > wonder, might be a fairer system, to allow the person who needs a copy
> > of an out-of-print work to obtain one without depriving the author of
> > his royalty?
>
> I might add that the biggest obstacle to the exchange of information is
> books being out of print: that's what we should be concerned with!

While I'd argue for a significant time period before permanent lapse of copyright to an author, preferably several years, my general feeling is that if the author cannot find a publisher willing to publish a work, then there probably is little or no commercial interest in it.

There are vanity presses, I believe (what is the P.C. term for these?). If the author has a compelling need to publish, the technical means are available.

I do see a conflict between short-term access (say 60 days to 6 months) for out-of-print material which has not yet lapsed copyright entirely. As the old Caterpillar ads said "there are no easy solutions, only tough questions" (approx. quote).

-- 
Karsten M. Self (kmself[_at_]ix.netcom.com)

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