tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post1252713133941748827..comments2024-03-15T11:42:21.265-04:00Comments on The Patry Copyright Blog: Steve Fishman's Public Domain BookWilliam Patryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12987498082479617363noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-71573895226928935912009-07-10T10:57:59.422-04:002009-07-10T10:57:59.422-04:00I came across the book in a Federal District Court...I came across the book in a Federal District Court library yesterday. I'm going to try to get a copy for the office. It is a great tool for quickly evaluating a copyright claim against your client.Charles L. RIddlehttp://www.charleslriddle.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-28711770095736766052008-02-25T21:54:00.000-05:002008-02-25T21:54:00.000-05:00I don't know if I would clasify this as a "wry tra...I don't know if I would clasify this as a "wry transformative," but I think it is Onion-quality humor:<BR/><BR/>Duke University Purchases the Public Domain<BR/>http://www.ibiblio.org/index.old/index.april012004.htmlPeterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09236559028091613710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-52165782410364594042008-02-24T20:24:00.000-05:002008-02-24T20:24:00.000-05:00Re Anonymous, true enough; point well taken.Re Anonymous, true enough; point well taken.William Patryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12987498082479617363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-44294393503538914052008-02-24T17:56:00.000-05:002008-02-24T17:56:00.000-05:00John, I am not sure I understand the question. If ...John, I am not sure I understand the question. If we assume a work was subject to (federal) copyright, but the copyright owner chose to abandon the copyright, then yes any efforts by states to protect that work would be preempted. This has been the case from the beginning in the analagous situation where an author chose not to affix a copyright notice to a work where such a work was required.William Patryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12987498082479617363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-26963212273846358082008-02-24T17:54:00.000-05:002008-02-24T17:54:00.000-05:00Re: Other bilateral treaties, it is my understandi...Re: Other bilateral treaties, it is my understanding that we were usually the ones who insisted upon those provisions. (E.g. the recent treaty with Australia) Where that's the case, I doubt that the other side would be terribly upset if we could mutually agree to wipe out that provision and keep the rest of the treaty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-14849602715099189402008-02-24T17:40:00.000-05:002008-02-24T17:40:00.000-05:00Would federal preemption extend to abandonment, re...Would federal preemption extend to abandonment, requiring the development of a federal common law; or would we end up with 50 different regimes, and a daunting choice of law issue at the outset of every case?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-2162716600075749132008-02-24T17:37:00.000-05:002008-02-24T17:37:00.000-05:00Would federal preemption extend to abandonment, re...Would federal preemption extend to abandonment, requiring the development of a federal common law; or would we end up with 50 different regimes, and a daunting choice of law issue at the outset of every case?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-74736088718520347992008-02-24T09:10:00.000-05:002008-02-24T09:10:00.000-05:00Dear Anon, you are certainly correct about what wo...Dear Anon, you are certainly correct about what would be required, although I would add breaking lots of bilateral treaties in addition to the 1996 WIPO treaties, TRIPs, and Berne. May we all live long enough to see that happen.William Patryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12987498082479617363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-24858419971942442172008-02-24T08:39:00.000-05:002008-02-24T08:39:00.000-05:00Well, you're wrong about the public domain never r...Well, you're wrong about the public domain never returning to its full vibrancy. All we have to do is to withdraw from the idiotic treaties that helped get us into this mess. Given that there are ever-increasing calls for terms shorter than life+50, and that alone requires withdrawing from Berne and TRIPS, there is actually a good chance that this will happen in our lifetime. Berne was a stupid idea, joining it even more so (after we'd successfully shown how pointless it is), and the various maximalists were for having become so greedy that they finally awoke the sleeping dragon that is the public. It's like early 1942 in the Pacific just now, but in time the maximalists will lose the fight.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-70981881910445436362008-02-23T01:40:00.000-05:002008-02-23T01:40:00.000-05:00We could replant the rainforest.If we want to rest...We could replant the rainforest.<BR/><BR/>If we want to restore the public domain, the easiest way to begin is to use the power of eminent domain to buy it back for the public.<BR/><BR/>While this seems daunting, one can imagine a valuation being done on the per capita fair market value of each person's unpublished works, followed by a settlement a la the digital TV conversion buy out or the excize tax refund or the current economic recovery check whereby anyone accepting the check would surrender their copyrights to the public domain.<BR/><BR/>The private sector could simply send offers en masse to registered copyright holders to buy them out for the benefit of the public domain for a small sum, perhaps $100 each, and reclaim a great many of the de facto worthless registrations.<BR/><BR/>With perhaps 95% of unpublished works and a meaningful percentage of registered copyrights repurchased for the public domain for nominal costs, individualized appraisals of copyrights with real value could be made, and while it would be more expensive, a fair share of those could be purcahsed back as well.<BR/><BR/>It would be an expensive one time venture, but it would also restore something approximating the pre-1976 act status quo.Andrew Oh-Willekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-72523361944077204732008-02-22T13:17:00.000-05:002008-02-22T13:17:00.000-05:00I'm off to order a copy of that book. Thanks for p...I'm off to order a copy of that book. Thanks for pointing it out for us!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-32799451328146737382008-02-22T10:45:00.000-05:002008-02-22T10:45:00.000-05:00Chuck, me too; they were fun to do. There are also...Chuck, me too; they were fun to do. There are also bots that track down every use and accuse you of being a war criminal, so it became too much of a hassle.William Patryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12987498082479617363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12505562.post-57080311331092932622008-02-22T09:44:00.000-05:002008-02-22T09:44:00.000-05:00I miss those "wry transformative comments."I miss those "wry transformative comments."Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11568447392777184055noreply@blogger.com