Re: copyright expiration as a spur to creativity

On 11 Aug 1998, Karsten M. Self <kmself[_at_]ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>
> Albert Henderson <noblestation[_at_]compuserve.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Tue, 04 Aug 1998, Karsten M. Self <kmself[_at_]ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > 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.
> >
> > The Hubbard estate waited for years to negotiate a satisfactory
> > deal for the Conan series in the U.S. It was in paperback in
> > Britain. The Hubbard estate opposed specilized sci-fi book dealers'
> > unauthorized importing. Conan ended up not only in print but in the
> > movies.
> >
> > With an authorized investor, the series enjoyed far more marketing
> > and distribution than it had with bootleggers and pirates.
>
> First, there will be exceptions to any general rule -- not all
> marketable books will be recognized as such. In general however,
> the market life of the vast majority of works is several years.

The law applies equally to all.

> Second, it appears from your post that the Hubbard estate had secured
> potential offers, but were shopping for more favorable terms.

I can only tell you it was shopping, not whether offers were made. Their asking terms may have been passed over for some time.

> Third, how does favorable publication terms for a dead man (assuming the
> Hubbard estate's actions followed L. Ron's death) induce productivity of
> the author or promote knowledge ("science")? Art 1.8: "to promote
> science and the useful arts by, securing for limited times to authors
> and inventors the exlusive right to their respective writings and
> discoveries".

The encouragement of investment, even post mortem, in copyrighted works is an incentive. Conan generated new derivative works costing millions. It also provided an important model for others to invest time and money in fiction writing rather than alternatives.

Albert Henderson, Editor, PUBLISHING RESEARCH QUARTERLY 70244.1532[_at_]compuserve.com Received on Thu Aug 13 1998 - 19:18:07 GMT