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In The Non-US Public Domain

Posted by michael on from the don't-touch-that-mouse dept.

truthsearch writes "Lawrence Lessig's weblog points to 'a page by John Mark Ockerbloom at the University of Pennsylvania listing books that are in the public domain elsewhere but not, because of the Copyright Term Extension Act, in the United States. Check out the books you are not allowed to download.' Includes books like 'Animal Farm' and '1984'."

4 of 45 comments (clear)

  1. My selfish perspective by L.+VeGas · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I was excited about this for a second until I actually looked at the list. Can you imagine trying to read Dreiser on your monitor? Or, oh my god, James Joyce?

    I know this has little do with the point of the article, but I bet I could buy any of these books for 50 cents or so and save money on aspirin and eyeglasses by not circumventing the US copyrights on these works.

    --
    Best Windows Freeware
  2. Re:Warning: Don't Do This! by clonebarkins · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Why doesn't he institute some way of preventing anyone with a .com, .edu, or .us domain from downloading them?

    Why should he do that? It's not his job to police other people. Let Asscroft worry about it.

    --

    "The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it." -- Ayn Rand

  3. Re:Warning: Don't Do This! by entrippy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Presumably because .com domains are not and have never been the exclusive domain of those within the US. It's far from being a reliable method of ensuring that the people downloading are not located in the states - this is the net after all - geography is invisible.

    So a warning does the job as well as anything else will. It's not a "statement AGAINST copyright" it's a statement ABOUT copyright. Ie, a fact, not an editorial.

  4. Re:Okay, question time... by Sentry21 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think the fact that the phrase 'illegal books' can actually be used in realistic conversation is extremely worrying.

    What will happen if copyright keeps getting extended? Will we have 'literary contraband', legal everywhere except the US (and countries whose laws the US 'influences')? Will importing a copy of 1984 that you didn't pay for become a crime for which you can be fined or imprisoned?

    I'm not an alarmist, but the way things are going, I may as well be.

    --Dan