Re: Copyright Extension Bill Passes Congress

Michael Scarpitti <mscarpit[_at_]asnt.org> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 3 Nov 1998, Lance Purple <lpurple[_at_]netcom.com> wrote:
> >
> > - If you leave your car, your wallet, etc. abandoned in a
> > public place for several years, it typically ceases to
> > be your property. Should a published but out-of-print
> > work be considered "abandoned" after x years and become
> > public-domain?
>
> This I have maintained repeatedly.

Not so, folks. In the US, there is a BIG legal difference between lost and abandoned property. To be abandoned, there must be an intent to part with the property. If you find my wallet 20 years after it was "lost", and it has money in it, that money is still mine, and not yours. If there is an ID in the wallet, you have an obligation to return it. If there are credit cards, and you use them, you are guilty of a crime. If there are negotiable instruments, and you negotiate them, you have committed a crime. Whether people do it all the time does not make it legal, and whether they can be traced and caught does not make it right or wrong.

Even a car on a public street, stripped of the license plate, is not abandoned if a thief took the plate off, and the thief abandoned the car on the street. The car still belongs to the owner. Paintings belonging to Europeans that were taken during world war 2 were not abandoned, and many are now being returned to their rightful owners. You cannot even depend on a period of time to determine abandonment. You have to get into the head of the person who "abandoned" the property.

The law varies from state to state, and you should consult with an attorney before determining how any specific fact pattern is interpreted in your state or country.

-- 
Thomas E. Workman Jr.
41 Harrison Street
Taunton, MA 02780

EMAIL: tworkman[_at_]erols.com
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