kyng
Consul General
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Post by kyng on Feb 27, 2019 23:52:55 GMT
Well, it's not totally useless: people can (and do) reproduce copies of the specific works that have entered the public domain (for example, here are some public domain Tarzan audiobooks). They just can't write their own Tarzan story without permission from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc (who hold the trademark). However, trademarks (unlike copyrights) need to be renewed every 10 years - and there's also the risk of trademarks becoming genericized (although I don't think that's ever happened with a trademarked fictional character: maybe someone here can think of one?) Huh, that's a good point you have about trademark genericization. I'm starting to wonder if--as the internet continues to change and inevitably ever swell in size and scope through the coming decades, maybe even the decentralized version of more techno-libertarian experts' dreams--it will become progressively harder to enforce IP laws, at least as they pertain to cyberspace. For example, web originals that unauthorizedly use trademarked terms and likenesses, in large part because digital creators probably don't know the ins and outs of those laws like the media companies of yesteryear, may slip through the cracks and become increasingly harder for said trademark owners to hunt down. Personally, I'd welcome a world in which Lucasfilm no longer has the sole ability to use the word "droid" or Paramount Pictures monopolizes the term "Starfleet"; that's the sort of legislation that strikes me as frivolous, petty and probably in some capacity instituted by IP lawyers out of a drive to make more money. And I hope that I live to see such a future come to pass, though laws evolving to suit technological change won't necessarily result in them easing up--and may in fact trend in the opposite direction (i.e. Article 13 in the EU today). But to avoid getting into a Politics and Current Affairs-oriented discussion about IP, I'll stop there. I expect it will. I mean, it's already pretty hard to enforce IP laws as it is, hence why you're seeing such heavy-handed approaches being proposed or passed (SOPA and Article 13, for example). I wouldn't be surprised if this trend continued - and it reached the point where it became all but impossible to enforce any kind of copyright law without seriously cracking down on free expression. At that point, I do wonder whether the political pressure would become impossible to resist, forcing the authorities to give in and accept weakening copyright laws. Which I expect would be immensely damaging to the traditional behemoths of the creative industry, but at least there would be plenty of independent open-source content to fill the gap  . |
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Zyobot
Fleet admiral
Just a time-traveling robot stranded on Earth.
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Post by Zyobot on Feb 28, 2019 0:37:27 GMT
Huh, that's a good point you have about trademark genericization. I'm starting to wonder if--as the internet continues to change and inevitably ever swell in size and scope through the coming decades, maybe even the decentralized version of more techno-libertarian experts' dreams--it will become progressively harder to enforce IP laws, at least as they pertain to cyberspace. For example, web originals that unauthorizedly use trademarked terms and likenesses, in large part because digital creators probably don't know the ins and outs of those laws like the media companies of yesteryear, may slip through the cracks and become increasingly harder for said trademark owners to hunt down. Personally, I'd welcome a world in which Lucasfilm no longer has the sole ability to use the word "droid" or Paramount Pictures monopolizes the term "Starfleet"; that's the sort of legislation that strikes me as frivolous, petty and probably in some capacity instituted by IP lawyers out of a drive to make more money. And I hope that I live to see such a future come to pass, though laws evolving to suit technological change won't necessarily result in them easing up--and may in fact trend in the opposite direction (i.e. Article 13 in the EU today). But to avoid getting into a Politics and Current Affairs-oriented discussion about IP, I'll stop there. I expect it will. I mean, it's already pretty hard to enforce IP laws as it is, hence why you're seeing such heavy-handed approaches being proposed or passed (SOPA and Article 13, for example). I wouldn't be surprised if this trend continued - and it reached the point where it became all but impossible to enforce any kind of copyright law without seriously cracking down on free expression. At that point, I do wonder whether the political pressure would become impossible to resist, forcing the authorities to give in and accept weakening copyright laws. Which I expect would be immensely damaging to the traditional behemoths of the creative industry, but at least there would be plenty of independent open-source content to fill the gap . The more IP-weak future you describe is one that I mostly look forward to--provided that I'm on the receiving end of the benefits and society doesn't drive over too many potholes on the road to adapting, of course. Once I'm old and senile, perhaps today's standards will be regarded in a way that's analogous to the Hayes Code of yester-century. But when all is said and done, I suppose we'll ultimately have to wait, see, and maybe give public policy a few "nudges" here and there to make the dream a reality  . |
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lordroel
Administrator
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Post by lordroel on Feb 28, 2019 16:23:00 GMT
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kyng
Consul General
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Post by kyng on Mar 8, 2019 19:49:21 GMT
Yep . With the deadline looming, I was rather worried that Congress might pass a hasty resolution to extend it even further. Fortunately, that didn't happen - and, now that the US government is divided, it doesn't look likely to happen any time soon. The whole thing is silly, though. Copyright exists to protect the creators of works - not their grandchildren or great-grandchildren! |
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mullauna
Banned
Banned
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Post by mullauna on Mar 8, 2019 20:37:39 GMT
lengthy terms were originally designed to encourage continued exploitation of deceased creator's works by their heirs and to provide much needed income (in many cases, this was in lieu of a state pension) for the families.
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