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RE: [dvd-discuss] Must Copyright terms be uniform?



Getting even a 50yr term reinstated would be a miracle. The only way that 
"seisure in reverse" could be blunted is if someone pointed out how much 
money they gave to get the SonnyBono law in the first place. OTOH should 
the supreme court rule that copyright cannot be extended retroactively to 
works already given copyright protection, then they have no choice since 
Congress had no power to do so and any money they have made in the last 
few years is more than adequate compensation.

I'm very much afraid that copyright is becoming the "goose that laid the 
golden egg". The sword hanging over their head is Napster and the rest. As 
Macauley pointed out copyright only works because the public believes in 
it. "Remember too that, when once it ceases to be considered as wrong and 
discreditable to invade literary property, no person can say where the 
invasion will stop.  The public seldom makes nice distinctions."


Macauley is at .Search on copyright
ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext00/4mwsm10.txt





"Dean Sanchez" <DSanchez@fcci-group.com>
Sent by: owner-dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu
11/13/01 10:58 AM
Please respond to dvd-discuss

 
        To:     <dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu>
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        Subject:        RE: [dvd-discuss] Must Copyright terms be uniform?


While I can baritone of your comments and they strike a favorable chord,
some of the other arguments regarding this subject come across as a
little falsetto.


But seriously, do you think that there is a realistic chance reducing
the copyright limits to even 50 years? I can envision existing holders
would arguing that the reduction would be uncompensated 'seizure' by the
government.  Eldred's argument in reverse as it were.  Maybe any hope of
success would require us to work toward applying any new limits to
future works.

-----Original Message-----
From: John Zulauf [mailto:johnzu@ia.nsc.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2001 12:44 PM
To: dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu
Subject: Re: [dvd-discuss] Must Copyright terms be uniform?




Michael A Rolenz wrote:
> John Z.s argument is that the work enters into
>  the public domain sometime in
> the next generation which puts the term somewhere larger than 28 and
less
> than 50yrs.

Actually I've argued it must enter the PD in the "heart" of the next
generations productivity -- yeilding more of a 20-30 year range. 
Defining "heart" as at latest spanning the 40-50 yr old range and
starting the clock at 15-22 years old yeild from 18-35 years.

> one of my favorite puns I've ever made is when I told a woman I know
> who had just had her cat neutered "Oh you made him a catstratii"   ;-)

I don't think I like the tenor of your comments -- I've been known to
hand out the pun-ishment myself.

.002 -- which only makes sense standing on your head.