Re: [dvd-discuss] Eldred Amicus

[Scott A Crosby <crosby(at)qwes.math.cmu.edu>]

On Tue, 28 May 2002, Michael A Rolenz wrote:

> I don't believe that it is the court's function to set the correct term of
> copyright. It is the responsibility of Congress to do so. That does not
> mean that the court cannot review and throw out an unreasonbable term.
> Mary Bono can quote her good friend Jack Valenti who thinks it should be
> forever less a day but the silver tonqued liar is not likely to get the
> USSC to agree. (Mary Bono seems to have proven even more so than her late
> hubby that brains is not a requirement for politics).
>
> There are multiple factors that have to be taken into account.
>
> 1. The duration must be long enough that the creator/publisher/distributer
> has a reasonable expectation of a return.

Given Time Value of Money, anything over 40 years might as well be nearly
forever. The value of a thousand dollars in 40 years is about 40-60
dollars now. (in constant dollars)

There is some guidance in the Economicists Amicus that could strongly be
read as a refutation of any term over 50 years.

> 2. The duration must be long enough that the creator has an incentive and
> income to produce more works.

> 2a. One would like the duration to be long enough that the creator can
> enjoy some benefits from their mature works in the old age (but this is
> not a requirment only a desirement)

I'm curious... Why?  Shouldn't artists save for retirement like anyone
else?  Why doesn't this apply toward patents?

I look at it this way.. If you don't save money from boom years for the
lean years, like anyone else, you deserve what you get.

> 3. THe duration must be short enough that the works have SOME utility,
> worth, value and PEOPLE WANT them at the end of the copyright term. (e.g.,
> Disney only signed the contract for WInnie the Pooh with the contingency
> that the CTEA was approved....considering how much money they spent on
> CTEA does bribery mean anything?)

I look at anything over 40-50 years as being unreasonable..

BUT, I might be willing to go for life+10 years for unpublished works,
because they tend to not be commercially signifigant, and there are
private works that shouldn't become public till 10 years after the
authors death.

Scott