[Coco] Republishing Magazines

[jdaggett at gate.net]

On 28 Dec 2003 at 9:35, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz wrote:

> At 09:22 AM 12/28/03 -0500, jdaggett at gate.net wrote:
> >To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for
> limited times to 
> >authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective
> >writings and discoveries; Article I Section 8 US Constitution.
> 
> That's the section I referred to in my previous post -- the only right
> granted in the body and not the amendments. Cool, huh?
> 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This may have been the first time that a country ever established by Law and 
Concept that the writtings and ideas were chattel and were inalienable rights that 
need protection. It gives Congress the ability to determine for how long that 
protection is to be granted and how long it is necessary. In today's fast growing 
knowledge the works of science maybe only good for a few years before they are 
exceeded by newer ideas. 

In the case of literature, this is not so. These can have more life than say a idea of 
science. Patents were needed to protect reasearch and development and to help in 
recovering such costs by granting a period of time where the idea is protected from 
copying without consent. Trademarks were established to identify a product with a 
company and have longer life and greater protection. 

Literature and music are also the creation of the mind. How to protect this creativity 
in this arena was at one time unclear. How is thought and creativity made into 
chattel? The Constitution maybe the first to so state that essentially the creativity of 
the mind in literature and music are indeed chattel. Thus to protect against 
plagarism or the stealing of creativity of ideas, literature and music were given 
copyright status. Literature and music can spand the life of the author and even 
many generations. So Congress afforded these and trademarks as a most important 
of the ideas of creativity. It has given them the longest protection. 

Should there be a review of the protection? That will depend on which side of the 
fence one is standing. Trademarks should extend in perpetuity as long as the 
company can defend them. They are a lifeblood of brand recognition. Aka the Nike 
swoosh, CocaCola, amd many more. Literature and music is another debate. 
Problably a better question is do the heir of authors control of copyrights after the 
author is dead? When you consider that the works are now chattel and can be 
passed on to heirs, this rasies some intersting legal points. If literature and music is 
chattel then it has the right to be passed on to heirs and they can benefit from any 
profits such chattel may bring. We see this today in the Music Industry the fight over 
copyrights and profit benefits with the RIAA and music swapping.

just some of my thoughts

janes


> >It is my guess that Congress made copywrights and author protection
> >70
> years was 
> >to give the full measure of life of a writer. Suppose he wrote a
> >novel
> when young. 
> >This would ensure that his work was copyrighted for his life or most
> >of it. 
> 
> You wish! :) It is a "life-plus" term -- life plus 70 years, except
> for work for hire. Here's the relevant info from the Copyright Office
> -- and note the term of work for hire, which is part of this hideous
> issue!
> 
> 'A work that is created (fixed in tangible form for the first time) on
> or after January 1, 1978, is automatically protected from the moment
> of its creation and is ordinarily given a term enduring for the
> author's life plus an additional 70 years after the author's death. In
> the case of "a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not
> work for hire," the term lasts for 70 years after the last surviving
> author's death. For works made for hire, and for anonymous and
> pseudonymous works (unless the author's identity is revealed in
> Copyright Office records), the duration of copyright will be 95 years
> from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.'
> 
> Dennis
> 
> 
> 
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