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Proposed Chinese Copyright Changes Would Encourage Re-Use
New submitter BBCS writes "The National Copyright Administration of the People's Republic of China ('NCAC') is seeking public comments on a controversial draft amendment to China's copyright law. A number of recording artists and musicians have reacted strongly against this proposed amendment because it appears to encourage using others works without compensation. The amendments that have drawn particular ire are article 46 & 48. Per Article 46, one does not need consent to make recordings of another person's musical work if 3 months have passed since such work was published. Per Article 48, to use such person's musical work, one must contact the NCAC, identify the published material and its author, and within 1 month of use, submit a usage fee as per the NCAC, to facilitate the distribution of payment to applicable parties. I wonder what happens when someone applies to make use of Chinese Democracy by Guns N' Roses." What would you do, if copyright were so strongly time-limited?
How about making it 30 years after initial production. Seriously. Who else can sit back on their work and live it up? Even patents aren't as absurd.
Something like author's lifetime + 20 years.
If so, please explain to me why someone that does a single song could live out of it all of his life. That's not fair, IMO. Stallman (and others) are proposing date of publication + 10 years. THAT seems more fair to many, and I even think that's quite long. Originally, the first copyright laws were about publication + 14 years.
Yeah! And I also noticed that USA is building-up troops in Japan, Australia, and the south of China sea (and knowing that freaks me out...).
Sure it's three months now. But it'll be up to "life of the author + 75 years" soon enough.
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Yes, exactly. Sounds fair enough to me. If you don't want your music "covered" then don't publish it. I don't see why anyone would need the copmoser's (or rather "rightholder's", nowadays) consent to play, record or remix any original works. As long as they pay royalties, if required.
Oh, the beautiful gloss of greality!
To mod your first responder funny, or respond to you?
While 100+ years is extremely absurd, I think 3 months is on the other end of extreme absurdity. I do believe the US founders had a pretty good concept of copyright limitations, and that should be something we return to. A maximum of 28 years, renewed at 14, seems like a fine separation of of concerns to allow an artist to recoup what they ca before it goes into the public domain.
The cesspool just got a check and balance.
But why should the creator have such control of all instances of his work? Let's say the porn producers bought 1000 copies of his song from iTunes, then sold 1000 copies of their film. So they paid for all music used.
Why should the musician be able to prevent this? Just because he's uncomfortable being associated with it?
Can the person that made the bed the film was filmed on demand it be blurred out? The condom makers?
What about a news report. Can weapons manufacturers demand that their weapons be removed from the photos of terrorists?
People have produced music, literary works, and put on all manner of live entertainment performances for hundreds if not thousands of years before copyright was ever dreamt up.
That's not to say the scene wouldn't be different, but it may even be better because only people who were truly passionate about their work would do it, people would be in the business because its something they are truly passionate about and not because they see it as a way to get rich.
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I so wish 3 months was the standard for all IP. Imagine all the good it would do!
If obscure companies had no way of showing up years later and demanding payment for ideas they helped write the initial specs for but never put any effort into.
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/12/04/01/2011245/australian-wifi-inventors-win-us-legal-battle
If you could sing "Happy Birthday" on tv without getting sued.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You
If movie compression algorithms could be implemented on hardware based on what works best, not who's gouging the least or who's pet project it is.
The definition of IP is to intentionally HURT the end users of your own products as well as your competitors by maintaining a monopoly, retaining ownership even when sold, and requiring licensing long after the usefulness of such is insane.
I think it's high time to get rid of IP permanently.
Qybix
Qybix ----- I do not have a belief system; I'm an Anti-theist and proud of it! Saying that not believing in anything i
I agree that 3 months is absurd as well, however even 28 with a half-way renewal is absurd. Those timeframes were originally determined necessary because it took time to distribute the content. With our ability to transmit to THE ENTIRE WORLD (and beyond if necessary!) becoming near instantaneous, copyright duration should be decreasing instead of increasing. 10 years, one decade, should be PLENTY for pretty much any medium you can think of. And in the case of software, which changes much faster, even 10 years is a bit of a stretch.