Re: copyright expiration as a spur to creativity

On Tue, 25 Aug 1998, Albert Henderson <noblestation[_at_]compuserve.com> wrote:
>
> Talking about property I am talking about ownership -- not use,
> possession, manufacture, etc. Ownership. Under copyright, ownership
> is first and dictates use, possession, and making copies when making
> copies is possible.
>
> I wish my ownership of intellectual property to be protected and
> respected as much as any other form of ownership.

What seems difficult for Albert Henderson (and many others) to understand is that ownership of IP cannot parallel that of land because once the IP undergoes economic exploitation through publication, the ownership under statutory copyright does not change (unless it has actually been sold to the publisher, etc.). When land is sold, even in wee bits and pieces, it is *diminished* in quantity, quality and value. This is NOT the case with IP. Now I hasten to add that some publishers (scientific journals, for eg.) are moving to the concept of "pay for a look and retain nothing" in the area of access or licencing fees for electronic versions of their journals (and in almost all such cases they have been assigned copyright ownership by authors as a condition of publication). This presents a new situation, where in order to obtain a copy of a scientific paper years from now, indeed when the copyright has expired, a scholar will have to pay the access fee (or her institution will) rather than simply making a copy from the one purchased through subscription. So the "land" analogue may well be creeping closer and closer!

Cheers,

Bernard Katz, Head, Special Collections and Library Development McLaughlin Library, University of Guelph, Guelph ON Canada N1G 2W1 and Chair, Ontario Library Association Copyright Action Committee bkatz[_at_]uoguelph.ca // (519) 824-4120 X2089 // FAX: (519) 824-6931 Received on Wed Aug 26 1998 - 23:36:19 GMT