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Why Recordings From World War I Aren't Public Domain
An anonymous reader writes "While Disney and others have done a great job pushing the end date for works entering the public domain ever further forward, most people have assumed that anything from before 1923 is in the public domain. However, it turns out that this is not true for sound recordings, in part due to an accidental quirk in copyright law history — in that Congress, way back in 1909, believed that sound recordings could not be covered by copyright (they believed the Constitution did not allow recordings to be covered), and thus, some state laws stepped up to create special copyrights for sound recordings. A court ruling then said that these state rules were not overruled by federal copyright law. End result? ANY recorded work from before 1972 (no matter how early it was recorded) won't go into the public domain until 2049 at the earliest."
News flash: Copyright existed, and should exist, to allow an individual to profit from their creation. It has not a damned thing to do with producing useful art. The production of useful art is a result of the desire to PROFIT.
That being said, the legal system is imperfect and this is just another example of attempts to "do the right thing" even when it appears to not be.
But hey, go ahead and use it as an excuse for theft. That's certainly the right thing to do. Yeah, just unilaterally decide something is unfair and then justify your own illegal actions with it.
Why not burgle your neighbor's house? After all, he's probably making more money than he deserves and that pesky little right to private property wasn't really intended for his undeserved income to allow him a flat-screen television that would serve you better in your living room.
There are a lot of us. I'm sure we are all going to have a good cry now because someone out there disapproves of our behavior. Sniff. :(
DOn't bet on it.
They aren't sending armored men in, but they do work very hard to control governments while spinning it as 'charity'.
You don't think the money Mother Theresa raised for starving children actually went to the children? Most of it went to building nunneries.
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The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
A court ruling then said that these state rules were not overruled by federal copyright law.
Wow - Once upon a time a federal judge actually existed that held up the 10th amendment and states' rights. Those judges seem to be extinct today (see the SB1070 ruling in Arizona and Proposition 8 in California...)
Nigger rap music. That is if you consider nigger rap as music or niggers as humans.