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Re: [dvd-discuss] Specific ironies of the CTEA




.002's comment is apt. To flip the USSC on its head (figeratively), we went from a simple copyright system that everybody could understand  ("c" notice" + date of publication) to a complicated one that nobody can (life+N(t), N'(t)>0). The confusion that would be caused by eliminating the latter is less than the confusion caused and forseeablly to be caused by adopting the latter. One piece of mischief is the N(t) above.

Besides the CTEA has been inacted for only four years....how much chaos can be generated in that amount of time regarding works that were created decades ago and still have...get this....copyright notices in them.


"John Zulauf" <johnzu@ia.nsc.com>
Sent by: owner-dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu

12/11/2002 01:11 PM
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.002 (aka John Zulauf) scribbled in haste

> > "Life-plus" pseudo randomly withholds and releases
> > works based on the age of the author when the work was created and when
> > the author dies (with such arbitrary elements as accident (Aliyah, and
> > "the day the music died"), war (Glenn Miller), the quality of local
> > health care (Jim Henson), personal mental health care (Kurt Cobain),
> > parental sanity (Marvin Gaye), assassination (Selena) among many
> > others.  How one purports to promote progress with this plethora of
> > unpredictabilities, uncertainties, and unequal rewards is imponderable.

Ronald Austin wrote:
> Wouldn't the copyrights of these "Dead" people be held by the record company
> if they were still under contract when they died? If so then the copyright
> wouldn't expire for 95 years or am I missing something?

I believe that 95 years is only for "works for hire".  Yes, any works
done for hire will expire uniformly after 95 years, but works done on
the authors own dime get life+70 (under CTEA).

My purpose in point all of this out was to refute the USSC's comment to
Lessig that striking down the CTEA would create havoc for administration
and the release of works into the public domain.  The havoc was created
be the congress and only uniform duration (of whatever length) can
clarify it.

.002