note that our Congress has neither been removed from office via the ballot box, nor have the been expelled from the Capitol at the points of guns and/or pitchforks.
Come on, you know as well as I do who paid for that law to be enacted.
I further note that this indicates substantial consent of the governed.
I also note that half the people in the United States are statistically below average.
Doodads are covered by patents. We're talking about copyrights here. Don't get them confused, please.
Nobody is going to write "If I Had A Million Dollars" better than the Barenaked Ladies. The picture of the young Afghani girl with the striking eyes can't be "made better" after the copyright runs out. These things just exist. They're not mousetraps that will be done better.
They get 50 years, plus a six month grace period. remember, copyright starts on the date of first publication regardless of whether or not it's actually registered with th ecopyright office.
Basically, the onus is on the copyright holder to show that the work is within the 50 year limit, or that the registration has been paid (with the help of the copyright office). The defndant is more than welome to show in court that the 50 year limit has passed since first publication (if unregistered), or that the work has been registered and has passed 50 years + renewal limits + 6 month grace period.
The 50 years has to begin with date of publication to prevent submarining of copyright. And the author has to be free to register that work at any time within the 50 years + 6 months. (retroactive back to the date of first publication)
A "dead man pedal" is a pedal that an engineer has to keep pressed in order for the train to move. Theory is that if the engineer suffers a seizure, or a heart attack, or stroke, their foot will come off the pedal, and the train will come to a stop, hopefully saving the lives of everyone else on the train.
As before, if an author dies, the copyright goes to his estate. The we use probate/wills/estate law to decide who/what gets the copyright. It becomes the responsibility/choice of that entity to decide whether to renew the copyright.
Basically, if Danielle Steel were to kick the bucket, her copyrights would pass on to the next approriate person. Then that person would be able to pay the fee after the appropriate time.
If there's a dispute over who gets the copyright, and something is about to lapse, the executor of the estate will probably have the estate pay any extension fees nessecary, thereby ensuring the maximum value of the estate to the heirs.
What if I write a song in 2003, and it gets used in a movie in 2014? I'll be pretty pissed off if I didn't think there was any value to the song and let the copyright on it lapse. 50 years is a long enough time frame that I'll have plenty of time to think about what I want to do with a song and decide if it has commercial value or not.
As it currently stands, most musicians have the option of buying out their own recording masters after 30 years built into their contract, right?
Copyright is a social contract. When you write something, you know (or supposedly should know) that your work is protected for a limited time. You put your faith in the government to protect those rights for that limited time. (Just like you put faith in the government in keeping some value in those little pieces of paper floating around that we call dollars.)
Hey, if you don't like it, you're more than welcome to get the constitution amended.
I doubt you'll be successful. But, then again, we did have prohibition, didn't we?
The payback for this protection is that the works must ultimately be given back to the public domain for the enrichment of society as a whole.
Which our congress has shat upon.
As Eldred noted in his brief in Eldred v. Ashcroft, only a mere fraction of works created are of any commercial value today.
The other thing that should be done is set a limit on the number of years that the copyright can be renewed for.
"The Act would require copyright owners to pay a small fee to maintain their copyright on any published United States work 50 years after the date of first publication, and every five years afterwards for the duration of the copyright term."
This presumably would be 40 years. (To match the current term of copyright.)
I'm not certain that we could make this law retroactive. Although Eldred v. Ashcroft said that Congress could essentially retroactively extend copyright terms, I not certain that the court would be as nice in allowing congress to shorten the term (social contract, changing of the terms ex post facto and all that jazz.)
Anything up to the enactment point of the act would get 90 years protection. Everything created after would fall under the new system.
I think Eldred's solution is simple and elegant. much like Stallman's work on the GPL.
why do I have to pay for Disney, ESPN, and that crap to get Sci-Fi channel?
You don't. Federal law says that you can use Tier Buy-Through to get certain channels without having to get the whole platform. More Info [Warning! PDF!]
Aerospace is seeing this too. With the loss of a second Space Shuttle, there's a lot of push to have the US go back to rocket-based space travel. Well, what they forget is that we've lost a lot of that rocketry talent over the years to retirement/old age/death/whatnot... it would be pretty expensive to make the transition back.
Actually, I beg to differ. My current position came as a direct result of a contact I made at a job fair. While I agree that they're often useless, (often feeling like cows walking through the stockyard on the way to the slaughterhouse,) you can make contacts and network from them.
All that aside though, I got more contacts and interviews through the positive points 1-3. I also found a group of people specalizing in networking. While things didn't pan out and I didn't land my job through them, the networking and interaction with them definitley helped keep my skills sharp and my spirits up.
I also found out about 2 other groups in my area, more designed for people like me, Rochester Area 20 Somethings, and the Rochester Young Professionals, which also helped me gain contacts, make new friends and keep my spirits up during the job hunt.
Yeah, but the uniforms of the Microsoft soldiers have patches, and more patches, and even more layers of patches... and you can still see their underwear through the holes left behind.
Capstone is dying out, since those of us that lived there when they first opened are pretty much gone.
But, yeah, Physical Plant employs janitors. Facilities Management (FMS) employs Sanitation Engineers. In the end, they both end up taking out the trash.
In New York, fast food (and any restauraunt) charges sales taxes on purchase, because you're paying for the service, and not for the food itself. The food supplies are not taxed.
If you go into a grocery store, and buy a prepared meal, you pay sales tax. If you buy the ingredients to make that meal you are (generally) not charged sales tax.
When traveling in Canada, I know enough to keep all y receipts and get them validated at the border. Then I can cash in on GST (Federal sales tax) rebates when I go back into the US.
I also had to call and ream out B&N's online store because students in NYS schools don't have to pay sales tax for our textbooks. I had to fax them proof of enrollent, but I (eventually) got a refund for the sales tax on my order.
Good point. I wonder about blind/visually impaired people. Is this technology going to leave them behind? (I was going to say "in the dark", but that would have been just mean.)
Slashdot Mirror
Under the current system, piece by piece by piece, the code slips into the public domain 90 years after the death of each author, I would assume.
IANAL.
The nice thing is that if this law were enacted today, Microsoft would have 50 years + maximum extension length to use their copyrights.
Then they'd really have to "innovate"
note that our Congress has neither been removed from office via the ballot box, nor have the been expelled from the Capitol at the points of guns and/or pitchforks.
Come on, you know as well as I do who paid for that law to be enacted.
I further note that this indicates substantial consent of the governed.
I also note that half the people in the United States are statistically below average.
What's your point?
Doodads are covered by patents. We're talking about copyrights here. Don't get them confused, please.
Nobody is going to write "If I Had A Million Dollars" better than the Barenaked Ladies. The picture of the young Afghani girl with the striking eyes can't be "made better" after the copyright runs out. These things just exist. They're not mousetraps that will be done better.
They get 50 years, plus a six month grace period. remember, copyright starts on the date of first publication regardless of whether or not it's actually registered with th ecopyright office.
Basically, the onus is on the copyright holder to show that the work is within the 50 year limit, or that the registration has been paid (with the help of the copyright office). The defndant is more than welome to show in court that the 50 year limit has passed since first publication (if unregistered), or that the work has been registered and has passed 50 years + renewal limits + 6 month grace period.
The 50 years has to begin with date of publication to prevent submarining of copyright. And the author has to be free to register that work at any time within the 50 years + 6 months. (retroactive back to the date of first publication)
Why do we have "dead man pedals" on trains?
A "dead man pedal" is a pedal that an engineer has to keep pressed in order for the train to move. Theory is that if the engineer suffers a seizure, or a heart attack, or stroke, their foot will come off the pedal, and the train will come to a stop, hopefully saving the lives of everyone else on the train.
As before, if an author dies, the copyright goes to his estate. The we use probate/wills/estate law to decide who/what gets the copyright. It becomes the responsibility/choice of that entity to decide whether to renew the copyright.
Basically, if Danielle Steel were to kick the bucket, her copyrights would pass on to the next approriate person. Then that person would be able to pay the fee after the appropriate time.
If there's a dispute over who gets the copyright, and something is about to lapse, the executor of the estate will probably have the estate pay any extension fees nessecary, thereby ensuring the maximum value of the estate to the heirs.
What if I write a song in 2003, and it gets used in a movie in 2014? I'll be pretty pissed off if I didn't think there was any value to the song and let the copyright on it lapse. 50 years is a long enough time frame that I'll have plenty of time to think about what I want to do with a song and decide if it has commercial value or not.
As it currently stands, most musicians have the option of buying out their own recording masters after 30 years built into their contract, right?
Copyright is a social contract. When you write something, you know (or supposedly should know) that your work is protected for a limited time. You put your faith in the government to protect those rights for that limited time. (Just like you put faith in the government in keeping some value in those little pieces of paper floating around that we call dollars.)
Hey, if you don't like it, you're more than welcome to get the constitution amended.
I doubt you'll be successful. But, then again, we did have prohibition, didn't we?
The payback for this protection is that the works must ultimately be given back to the public domain for the enrichment of society as a whole.
Which our congress has shat upon.
As Eldred noted in his brief in Eldred v. Ashcroft, only a mere fraction of works created are of any commercial value today.
The other thing that should be done is set a limit on the number of years that the copyright can be renewed for.
"The Act would require copyright owners to pay a small fee to maintain their copyright on any published United States work 50 years after the date of first publication, and every five years afterwards for the duration of the copyright term."
This presumably would be 40 years. (To match the current term of copyright.)
I'm not certain that we could make this law retroactive. Although Eldred v. Ashcroft said that Congress could essentially retroactively extend copyright terms, I not certain that the court would be as nice in allowing congress to shorten the term (social contract, changing of the terms ex post facto and all that jazz.)
Anything up to the enactment point of the act would get 90 years protection. Everything created after would fall under the new system.
I think Eldred's solution is simple and elegant. much like Stallman's work on the GPL.
Sounds like C-Print. Unfortunatley, I don't know of an easy way to get a hold of it.
DYI? "Duh, You Idiot" Spirit? Or did you participate in a few too many of these DIY sessions? ;-)
why do I have to pay for Disney, ESPN, and that crap to get Sci-Fi channel?
You don't. Federal law says that you can use Tier Buy-Through to get certain channels without having to get the whole platform. More Info [Warning! PDF!]
As te old adage goes, RIT accepts 99% of all the men who apply, and every fourth woman.
Aerospace is seeing this too. With the loss of a second Space Shuttle, there's a lot of push to have the US go back to rocket-based space travel. Well, what they forget is that we've lost a lot of that rocketry talent over the years to retirement/old age/death/whatnot... it would be pretty expensive to make the transition back.
Simpsons did it!
No, not really. Sluggy Freelance did it. Except it was called a Smegvay. Just don't let the tip over.
It's not "I got laid off", it's "I got time off to get laid"
Actually, I beg to differ. My current position came as a direct result of a contact I made at a job fair. While I agree that they're often useless, (often feeling like cows walking through the stockyard on the way to the slaughterhouse,) you can make contacts and network from them.
All that aside though, I got more contacts and interviews through the positive points 1-3. I also found a group of people specalizing in networking. While things didn't pan out and I didn't land my job through them, the networking and interaction with them definitley helped keep my skills sharp and my spirits up.
I also found out about 2 other groups in my area, more designed for people like me, Rochester Area 20 Somethings, and the Rochester Young Professionals, which also helped me gain contacts, make new friends and keep my spirits up during the job hunt.
Network, netowrk, network.
Yeah, but the uniforms of the Microsoft soldiers have patches, and more patches, and even more layers of patches... and you can still see their underwear through the holes left behind.
Capstone is dying out, since those of us that lived there when they first opened are pretty much gone.
But, yeah, Physical Plant employs janitors. Facilities Management (FMS) employs Sanitation Engineers. In the end, they both end up taking out the trash.
because, then we'll just have version number wars in a whole new place. Microsoft will release Sevenxplorer just to sound better.
No, if they hear you and don't enjoy it, they can sue, but probably only if they paid for it.
Hmmm... It could bring back some Cross border Shopping...
In New York, fast food (and any restauraunt) charges sales taxes on purchase, because you're paying for the service, and not for the food itself. The food supplies are not taxed.
If you go into a grocery store, and buy a prepared meal, you pay sales tax. If you buy the ingredients to make that meal you are (generally) not charged sales tax.
When traveling in Canada, I know enough to keep all y receipts and get them validated at the border. Then I can cash in on GST (Federal sales tax) rebates when I go back into the US.
I also had to call and ream out B&N's online store because students in NYS schools don't have to pay sales tax for our textbooks. I had to fax them proof of enrollent, but I (eventually) got a refund for the sales tax on my order.
Whether it's art or not is better left for others to debate, but I note that the string "rap" is a substring of "crap"
Good point. I wonder about blind/visually impaired people. Is this technology going to leave them behind? (I was going to say "in the dark", but that would have been just mean.)