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Optimum Copyright Period Decided by Math

An anonymous reader writes "So how long should a copyright be valid for? A Cambridge student has stepped into the discussion with a dispassionately calculated estimate of the optimal period a copyright should be granted. Ars' point of view: 'Neither the US nor the UK are in any danger of rethinking copyright law from scratch, but if they were looking for guidance in how to set up their systems, Pollock has it. He develops a set of equations focused specifically on the length of copyright and uses as much empirical data as possible to crunch the numbers. The result? An optimal copyright term of 14 years, which is designed to encourage the best balance of incentive to create new work and social welfare that comes from having work enter the public domain (where it often inspires new creative acts).' The original paper is available (pdf) online."

13 of 442 comments (clear)

  1. In the United States... by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    The optimum copyright period is decided by Disney.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:In the United States... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Now on DVD: a rerelease of the Little Mermaid, beautifully restored by replacing the color orange with yellow!

    2. Re:In the United States... by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 5, Funny

      Bah. Disney is a Mickey Mouse operation.

    3. Re:In the United States... by ajs318 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, Stelios Haji-Ioannou owns the copyright on the colour orange.

      --
      Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
  2. Re:B b b but... by elrous0 · · Score: 4, Funny
    I'm sorry, but the sentence you just used is copyrighted by Hank Williams, Jr.

    Consider yourself sued, buddy!

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  3. As I was reading this my hopes were soaring for... by rhartness · · Score: 2, Funny

    42 years!

  4. No no no. by Ihlosi · · Score: 3, Funny
    The optimum copyright period is decided by Disney.



    They're not deciding anything, they're just following the good old nuclear fusion approach:

    It's just twenty years away ...

  5. Re:In Zimbabwe... by butlerdi · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yes, but uncle Bob is a great man, he has made each and every Zim a multi million/billionare.

    --
    "If the King's English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me!" -- "Ma" Ferguson, Governor of Texas (circa
  6. Re:Proving once again... by hey! · · Score: 4, Funny

    They were lucky they were geniuses.

    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
  7. None of you understand... by frankie · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't any of you get it? Infinite, retroactive copyright extension is the ONLY way to enrich our cultural heritage of creative works. If the rights-holding corporations like Disney ever lose control of their money-making "intellectual properties", then some day they are likely to go bankrupt (fiscally, that is). And when that happens in our bleak dystopian future, their angry stock-holders will seize a time machine, go back to the 1920s, and convince Walt to never create his characters in the first place, since it clearly won't be a worthwhile investment of his effort.

    Sheesh, why do I have to spell this stuff out for you people? It's the only logical conclusion.

  8. They were thieves! by langelgjm · · Score: 5, Funny

    They were neither geniuses or lucky bastards - they were thieves. That figure of 14 years in the Copyright Act of 1790 was most likely copied - no, STOLEN - from England's Statute of Anne, dating to 1709. What a blatant violation of intellectual property!

    --
    "Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson
    1. Re:They were thieves! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Technically, based on their own rules the copyright on the Statue of Anne expired in 1723...

  9. Re:Proving once again... by Dragonslicer · · Score: 4, Funny

    A plurality system inexorably pushes politicians towards the center, rather than the fringes. You clearly aren't talking about the same USA that the rest of us are.