Re: copyright expiration as a spur to creativity

On 8/18/98, Michael Scarpitti <mscarpit[_at_]asnt.org> wrote:
>
> One has only so much time to haunt used bookshops (which I do) contact
> the author (I've done that) etc.
>
> My point is, that I DON'T HAVE A LIFETIME TO WASTE GETTING THE DAMNED
> BOOK. I NEED IT NOW! How much is your time worth?
>
> Again, if
>
> 1) the published is too stupid or lazy to make it MINIMALLY convenient
> for me to PURCHASE the book (which, as I have REPEATEDLY stated in this
> conversation, I wish to do) and
>
> 2) if I don't have all my life to look for it (not a first edition sort
> of thing!)
>
> then the whole point of publishing the book with a copyright is lost.
> Nobody makes any money if:
>
> 1) I buy a used copy
>
> 2) I copy an ILL copy of the book.
>
> Everybody loses

No publisher -- no matter how intelligent and energetic -- is going to make a decision to publish or not publish a book based entirely on YOUR convenience. You are one potential consumer for the work. I doubt you can find a publisher willing to incur the operating and production costs to maintain a print run for the sake of a single potential consumer.

Obviously, you don't mean that publishers and authors should lose their copyrights if they can't provide you -- Michael Scarpitti -- with the work you want when you want it. But the point remains that, for a publisher, there is a minimal level of likely consumer interest required to justify the expense of a print run.

As for your time: (1) There are several book search firms that will do all the legwork for you; you just need to call them. Most of them do not charge a fee until they get you the book you need. Check the NY Times Book Review on Sunday. (2) I can't imagine it takes any more time to contact an author than it does to post half a dozen messages to this mailing list, complaining that you don't have the time to find the book you want.

Finally, you say that "everybody loses" if you buy a used copy or make a copy of a book borrowed under ILL. Everybody except you, of course. But in reality, though the copyright holder may receive no revenue from the sale of a used copy of the book, at least the total number of copies in circulation remains controlled -- which has some value to the copyright holder, who may be waiting for a future opportunity (increased demand, etc.) to republish the work. You win (you get the book) and the copyright holder retains whatever value exists in controlling the reproduction of the book. (Plus, the bookseller receives value.) By contrast, if you copy the book, the copyright holder has no control over the exploitation of the book, so you "win" at the expense of the copyright holder.

Your argument, by the way, has little or nothing to do with the duration of copyright. Your argument, if accepted, would apply to a work that goes out of print at any time, be it one year or fifty years after publication. I wonder if that's what you intend to argue: that no copyright should exist in a book you can't find, regardless of time?

Daniel J. Schaeffer
<daniel_schaeffer[_at_]kirkland.com> Received on Wed Aug 19 1998 - 13:14:59 GMT