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Public Domain Enhancement Act petition

Posted by michael on from the don't-submit-your-other-petitions dept.

EricEldred writes "Please sign the petition and support the proposed Public Domain Enhancement Act. See eldred.cc for details. 'This statute would require American copyright owners to pay a very low fee (for example, $1) fifty years after a copyrighted work was published. If the owner pays the fee, the copyright will continue for whatever duration Congress sets. But if the copyright is not worth even $1 to the owner, then we believe the work should pass into the public domain.'" See the brief description of the Act if you aren't familiar with what Eldred and Lessig are proposing.

3 of 669 comments (clear)

  1. So we're going to convolute the system more? by SuperDuG · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Let's make it simple, you get it for 50 years to horde and license and then WHAMMO, it's societies to be bettered and shared. You had your time to profit and since we allotted you the time to profit from it we now as society are going to keep it as our own. If in 50 years you haven't profitted from it, then we aren't going to see a use for it either, so it's not our concern and it's dead.

    This whole forever copyright thing is a pain in the ass and quite frankly a load of crap. If you want the legal protection of a copyright then you need to follow the rules, not keep profiting and profiting on it, while society is at your whim. Wuit convoluting an already convoluted system. There are other options, don't bother copyrighting something and then you don't have to worry about it being public domain in 50 years, you can keep it a secret forever.

    Online petitions also don't work, they're too easy to fradulate, if you're really concerned call your representative and talk to them about it, don't put your email address on a weblog and think you've done your civic duty.

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    Ignore the "p2p is theft" trolls, they're just uninformed
  2. Re:automate it by PD · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Don't forget the works of silliness too. There's quite a few pulp novels from 50 years ago that are crumbling or lost, because they were literally printed on cheap paper. These "works of non-brilliance" are still important in their own way.

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    If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
  3. Re:automate it by Ost99 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That is why the fee should start earlyer (14 years was the old magic number, why not use it again) and increase exponensially...

    If it starts at $100 for year 15, and doubles for every 5th every year after... the fee would be over $800 000 after 80 years.

    Automatic renew process for *all* published works should run any company out of bussiness whit that system.

    - Ost

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    ---- Sig. gone.