Slashdot Mirror
Greg Bear, Others Cry Foul on Project Gutenberg Copyright Call
Nova Express writes "Recently a lot of science fiction stories from the 1950s and 60s (including work from still-living authors like Frederik Pohl and Jack Vance) have been showing up on Project Gutenberg as being in the public domain. However, according to science fiction writer Greg Bear and his wife Astrid Anderson Bear (daughter of Poul Anderson, some of whose works were among those put up), Project Gutenberg has made a mistake: 'After conducting legal research on the LEXIS database of legal cases, decisions, and precedents, we have demonstrated conclusively that PG was making incorrect determinations regarding public domain status in many, many works that originally appeared in magazine form ... In general, Project Gutenberg is doing a tremendous service by making available texts that have truly long since fallen out of copyright, but they are clearly overstepping their original mandate. They are not merely exploiting orphan works, but practicing a wholesale kidnapping of works that are under copyright protection.'"
Project Gutenberg is scrupulously careful and does not post material without a very solid case that they have a right to do so -- usually because things are public domain in the USA. PG Canada, Australia, Germany etc abide by their applicable laws just as scrupulously.
Whatever may be wrong with the copyright rules in the US (and elsewhere) it is certain that the rules are spelled out in enough detail to allow an unequivocal determination that these items are public domain in the US.
The authors don't have a leg to stand on and they know it. They are nothing but whiners.
Ah I see, so if you made a million bucks, you wouldn't try to take care of your kids?
If I made a million bucks, approximately half would be consumed by taxes. An average of $300k would be consumed by nursing home and terminal care. That would leave $200k, which is equivalent to about four years' post-tax income for me.
In other words, if my kid is going to see any of that, I'd better get hit by a bus in the very near future.
I really wish people would figure out the difference between an actual fortune and merely more money than they've ever held in their hands at once.
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.