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Re: [dvd-discuss] Eldred Amicus



Arnold G. Reinhold wrote:

> 
> That suggests the natural meaning of "limited" might be the original 
> terms set by the 1790 copyright act, since the first Congress knew best 
> what "limited" meant. If anything, the speed of modern communication 
> would argue for shorter terms than those deemed necessary when type was 
> set by hand and books were distributed by ox cart and sailing ship.  I'd 
> also argue that if Congress is to extend copyright duration at all, it 
> should be by adding additional 14 year renewal opportunities.  This 
> would cause the vast majority of published works, plus gazillions of 
> pieces of ephemera, to enter the public domain while protecting those 
> few works that do have long term value.

This reminds me of the idea of a tax. If copyright is property, then it 
should be subject to a property tax, right?  One of the reasons we tax 
property is to encourage its use.  We don't want property to stand idle. 
  Same goes for copyrighted works.  If you are still using it, you pay a 
tax, and can afford it.  If you choose not to pay a tax, it goes into 
the public domain.

> 
> By the way, in the new movie "About a Boy," from Universal Studios, Hugh 
> Grant plays a playboy social parasite who lives off of royalties from a 
> popular Christmas song that his father wrote in the '50s. Hollywood 
> makes the case against long posthumous copyrights better than we ever 
> could.
> 
> Arnold Reinhold
>