Re: Copyright Extension Bill Passes Congress

On Thu, Oct 29, 1998, Jayne Sebby <jsebby[_at_]unlinfo.unl.edu> wrote:
>
> On Wed, Oct 28, 1998, Bob Cumbow <cumbr[_at_]perkinscoie.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Tue, Oct 27, 1998, Terry Carroll <carroll[_at_]tjc.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Albert Henderson <noblestation[_at_]compuserve.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > It seems to me a pity that the heirs of Shakespeare, Hawthorne,
> > > > Melville, etc. and modern writers have been treated less respect
> > > > than homesteaders whose property rights were were better
> > > > protected even from earliest times.
> > >
> > > What did these heirs do to deserve compensation?
> >
> > Actually, I don't buy the argument that an author's heirs don't
> > deserve to make money off the author's work. I don't expect either
> > of my daughters will become a lawyer, but I hope to give them a good
> > start in life with the money I've worked hard to make from that
> > career.
>
> Bob, you plan to leave your daughters your savings, not your law
> practice. They won't have to do anything (relatively speaking) to
> maintain your legacy. However, Albert, homesteaders left the land
> itself to their heirs and this land required continued work by the
> heirs to derive compensation.
>
> If one leaves a business to one's heirs, be it farming, a law firm, or
> authorship, isn't it expected that the heirs will have to put in some
> sort of effort to keep the enterprise going and only then reap the
> rewards of something they didn't struggle to create themselves? And
> if one leaves the money acrued over a lifetime to the heirs, isn't it
> expected that the heirs will probably spend it to make their own lives
> more pleasant (giant generalization, I know!) ?
>
> So why should copyright fall into the second category and not the
> first?

Though it may appear difficult to conceive, the "law practice" and the money already amassed from it are not really separate. Privately held firms often have buy-out options (funded by life insurance) at the death of one of the owners, so the heirs can be compensated without having to become involved in a business about which they may know nothing. This keeps the heirs out of the business, which frequently is a good thing.

Michael A Scarpitti
Assistant Editor
Materials Evaluation
The American Society
For Nondestructive Testing
1711 Arlingate Lane
Columbus, Ohio 43228-0518
(800) 222-2768 X207
(614) 274-6003 X207
fax (614) 274-6899
e-mail mscarpit[_at_]asnt.org Received on Fri Oct 30 1998 - 14:26:20 GMT