If the productions and rights being preserved at taxpayer expense only had the copyright length that they were *originally created under*--i.e. for anything on 2" video 28 years (or 56 with renewal)--I'd have much less problem with those productions being housed at the LoC.
I know that then opens up the whole morass of state vs federal audio recording copyrights, lengths, underlying songwriting rights, etc.
I'd make those 56 years from creation, too. Plenty of time to get money back or make a killing, plenty of opportunity for the public to still gain public domain access when some of the public is still young enough to care.
Unfortunately the commercial interests and political power of a few very large companies desiring to keep an ongoing revenue stream from a very small number of continuing profitable audio/video/books/films they happen to have acquired over the years makes that revision politically impossible.
However, the current situation, which means a book published during the presidency of Chester Arthur has a greater chance of being in print today than one published during the time of Reagan, goes to show just how disruptive to our cultural patrimony the current copyright situation has become
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/07/the-hole-in-our-collective-memory-how-copyright-made-mid-century-books-vanish/278209/
I believe the situation for audio recordings is far worse.
Arthur Gaer
On Jul 30, 2013, at 9:06 PM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Whatever, I think that's the job of those wanting the taxpayer to preserve their productions. Give it to the LOC with a blanket release, with the known intent to be wide, no-cost distribution via the LOC's website at the earliest possible time. Otherwise, it's just a boondoggle where the taxpayers are bearing the cost and getting zero benefit. It gets worse than that. What about the LOC's own in-house recordings of poetry and music, made in their own auditorium? Where are those sounds? Locked away, for the most part. They should be online, available to all Americans. And, LOC-produced anthologies should never be out of print (and I really think that you shouldn't have to pay for a copy if you actually pay income taxes).
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Stamler" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 8:59 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] CBS News on LOC efforts to preserve video history
>
>
>> On 7/30/2013 6:57 PM, Tom Fine wrote:
>>> I am especially concerned if public TV stations like the one mentioned
>>> in the piece (the producer of the program on Mississippi blues
>>> musicians, hosted by BB King) are not releasing copyright on their
>>> in-house productions. If the taxpayer is to pay for preserving these
>>> items, there should be universal access to them!
>> Just so, but copyright clearance on any music contained in the programs complicates their re-release.
>>
>> Peace,
>> Paul
>>
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