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Denmark Now Supports EU Copyright Term Extension

airfoobar submitted an editorial by Bernt Hugenholtz. From the article "Bad news from Denmark. According to an official press release, the Danish government has changed its position and now endorses the European Commission's proposal to extend the term of protection for sound recordings. Since Denmark was part of a fragile blocking minority in the European Council, there is a danger now that the EU Presidency will try to push through the proposal within a matter of weeks."

17 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. Obligatory.... by nebaz · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

    --
    Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
    1. Re:Obligatory.... by Zumbs · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Did you look at the date of the press release? February 24th 2011. It is more than a month ago, and so far very little has been in the Danish media on the subject. Something is indeed rotten ...

      --
      The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head
  2. When limits mean nothing by Platinum+Dragon · · Score: 2

    At some point, a person should stand before a legislative committee dealing with copyright term extensions - pick a country where these discussions are happening, any one - and ask just how many more term extensions will be granted, or whether copyright terms will be made permanent de jure, not just de facto.

    --

    Someday, you're going to die. Get over it.
    1. Re:When limits mean nothing by kvezach · · Score: 2

      That was sort of what they tried in the US with Eldred v. Ashcroft, but it failed. The "nice" thing about doing copyright extensions with a finite creep each time is that it stays de jure finite while it is de facto infinite, so the people doing it never have to show their true intent as they stay within the letter of the law.

  3. Oblig. Heinlein by mangu · · Score: 4, Informative

    "But I will accept any rules that you feel necessary to your freedom. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; If I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am responsible for everything I do."
      ("The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress", 1966)

    No copyright extensions will affect me as long as P2P exists.

    1. Re:Oblig. Heinlein by burisch_research · · Score: 2

      Incorrect. You are now a criminal. This affects you.

      It's not your fault, but it is your problem. The fault is crappy laws, your problem is you are now a criminal. Sucks to be human these days.

      --
      char*f="char*f=%c%s%c;main(){printf(f,34,f,34);}";main(){printf(f,34,f,34);}
  4. Re:70 years?! by Locke2005 · · Score: 4, Funny

    What are you, some kind of pedophile? My daughter is a decade old, thank you very much!

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  5. Re:Another extension? by GameboyRMH · · Score: 2

    Well what motivation would they have to create if they couldn't be assured that their ancestors will be able to make money off of it until the heat-death of the universe? It takes a long time for artists to make their money back you know. Do you expect them to turn a profit within just a decade or two? Don't forget the poor starving record companies need to get their 80-97% cut first, and what would artists do without them in this age of dirt-cheap digital distribution and viral marketing?

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  6. Re:Another extension? by DanTheStone · · Score: 2

    Well what motivation would they have to create if they couldn't be assured that their ancestors will be able to make money off of it until the heat-death of the universe?

    I presume you're implying that they'll invent time-travel, and that will in turn require the use of very strange verb conjugations.

  7. Re:70 years?! by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 2

    Yes, in fact, I prefer things young. Like, meat. I like my ham to be well under a decade old; it has a funny taste to it after 70 years. Even 4 years old is a huge stretch for me. Or dogs, I'm not sure I'd go for a 12 year old dog, or a 25 year old one; maybe 1-2 years, 3 or 4 if I find a used one at a shelter somewhere. I am definitely not into the resale of children; I dislike children actually, but if I were to have one of my own it would have to be rather fresh, in fact brand new, probably make my own.

  8. Copyright terms by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 4, Insightful

    At the current pace of extending copyright terms, copyrights themselves will have no meaning.

    --
    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  9. Here's my deal by mmcuh · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As long as they keep extending it, I'll keep ignoring it. I think that's fair.

  10. Remember about spain. by unity100 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Remember how spain was to push a draconian penalty system for filesharers, until through wikileaks it came out that u.s. government was heavily bullying and threatening spanish government to pass the bill. And when this hit the news, spanish assembly unanimously turned down the filth that originated from u.s.

    I dont even suspect - im sure that there is same kind of play at work here. A government which was against what private interests in the dirtiest, rotten country of the world, switches stance out of the blue.

  11. you might as well talk to a wall by t2t10 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Probably the most powerful counterargument is that exclusive rights in sound recordings are granted for a reason. The prospect of a temporary legal monopoly acts as an incentive for the industry to invest in recording and distributing sound recordings. Logically, the term of protection should therefore be just long enough for record companies to recoup these investments.

    That's the US reasoning. In Europe, control of their creations is viewed as an intrinsic right of artists and creators. Furthermore, any argument you make from the American point of view is going to be met by the deep-seated European conviction that there is no art or culture in the US that's worth protecting anyway so Americans should just keep out of these discussions. If you want to convince Europeans, you need to come up with a different argument. But, frankly, between European attitudes, corporate lobbying, and policy laundering, you might as well talk to a wall.

    (Remember that the current copyright insanity originated in Europe with the Berne convention; the US refused to comply for a long time, but finally gave in in the 1970's.)

  12. Re:Another extension? by GumphMaster · · Score: 2

    I think the word you were looking for is Freeloa... er... Descendants.

    --
    Patent litigation: A doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction... in which everyone seems willing to push the button
  13. Re:stop wasting taxpayer money by robot_love · · Score: 2

    Hah! I already thought of that. Your bill is in the mail.

    --
    .there is enough of everything for everyone.
  14. 30 years is enough by cartman · · Score: 2

    30 years is sufficient, for two reasons. First, 30 years is sufficient time for an artist to receive payment, for most of his working career, as a result of some artistic production he created. Second, 30 years is long enough that the "net present discounted value" (at a 5% discount rate) of anything after 30 years is negligible. As a result, record companies will not make investments or produce anything or change their investment behavior now because of payments to be received after 30 years in the future.

    Remember that intellectual property is not "property" in the normal sense. It cannot be stolen, for example, but only copied. Intellectual property is a construct, whereby the producers of intellectual content can be compensated for their labor. 30 years is enough time for people to be compensated for their labor, and is longer than the investment horizon of companies.