Public Domain

[implodinggoat]

Throughout the twentieth century companies in the United States have been going to court to have their copyright period extended. The leading company involved in this has been the Disney corporation. At this point copy righted material has been extended to nearly a hundred years because after 75 Mickey Mouse was going to become public domain and thus Disney went to court. If this continues we will discover that we will no longer have any culture due to entertainment companies attempting to keep control over the artists they had under contract. Imagine if all the music, literature, and art of the past was all copyrighted, we would have no culture.

[NEMESiSZ]

Suprise: it's all copyrighted anyway, and it doesn't stop anyone from enjoying it.

[JMHX]

What was the point of this one?

[TheloniousMONK]

What are you talking about? Just because that stuff is all copyrighted doesn't mean it's not a part of our culture.

[Slizor]

I must say goaty boy, I agree with you. Copyrights, especially very long copyrights, are just silly.

[NEMESiSZ]

Having Slizor agree with you is like having 5 people disagree with you. Sorry pal, your topic is useless.

[Ted-Easton]

Make that 6. Music without copyrights isn't the only music that is part of our culture. Unless culture is some big collection of copyrightless music.

[JMHX]

I think we'd have no culture WITHOUT copyrights!

[NEMESiSZ]

I'm still trying to figure out what this guy's point is? Copyrights make things bad? Everything is copyrighted...if Mickey Mouse weren't, any asshole could just make "Mickey Mouse's (Product/Service)" and sell it, which would CHEAPEN any culture created by a copyrighted item.

[JMHX]

At 2/23/03 04:43 PM, NEMESiSZ wrote: I'm still trying to figure out what this guy's point is? Copyrights make things bad? Everything is copyrighted...if Mickey Mouse weren't, any asshole could just make "Mickey Mouse's (Product/Service)" and sell it, which would CHEAPEN any culture created by a copyrighted item.

Mickey Mouse's Douce Distribution

[implodinggoat]

At 2/23/03 04:43 PM, NEMESiSZ wrote: I'm still trying to figure out what this guy's point is? Copyrights make things bad? Everything is copyrighted...if Mickey Mouse weren't, any asshole could just make "Mickey Mouse's (Product/Service)" and sell it, which would CHEAPEN any culture created by a copyrighted item.

You miss the point it is the obscenely long length of these copyrights that is damaging. Imagine of all William Shakespeares work were still copyrighted, anything based on or mentioning that work (and in the case of Shakespeare there is a fuck of a lot of that)would be sued for copyright infringement. Yes we can listen to or watch copyrighted material but we cannot modify, perform, or parody it. Look at the submissions you get to Newgrounds for example, people are scared to death to making a praody of anything without being sued into oblivion.

[NEMESiSZ]

Um, they didn't have copyrights in the 1600s...

[TheEvilOne]

I'm not sure, but can't copyrights be extended after they expire? I can understand letting something go to public domain if the company is no longer profiting from it, but if the company still is, can't they have the copyright extended?

[implodinggoat]

At 2/24/03 08:33 PM, NEMESiSZ wrote: Um, they didn't have copyrights in the 1600s...

Exactly....if they did our culture wouldn't have advanced much in the past 400 years. What if the family of Bach tried to sue Beethoven saying that he was ripping off Bach's style.

[implodinggoat]

At 2/24/03 08:34 PM, TheEvilOne wrote: I'm not sure, but can't copyrights be extended after they expire? I can understand letting something go to public domain if the company is no longer profiting from it, but if the company still is, can't they have the copyright extended?

Some things are good enough that they will be profitable forever. Don't you think that there should be a limit?

[Alakazam]

At 2/23/03 04:09 PM, NEMESiSZ wrote: Having Slizor agree with you is like having 5 people disagree with you. Sorry pal, your topic is useless. :

As it always is Nemesisz. Having Terry agree with your or disagree with you is like having support from a void. Who cares about copyrights? I fail to see why copyrights hinder music, film, and literature from being part of our culture.

Hey, notice my sig Neme! ah ha ha ha

[NEMESiSZ]

Seriously man, this is the stupidest thread ever.

[Alakazam]

I feel so uncultured because I don't own any copyrights....

[implodinggoat]

At 2/24/03 09:05 PM, NEMESiSZ wrote: Seriously man, this is the stupidest thread ever.

Look through some of the shit that gets posted and say that with a straight face.

[Nevah73]

Or maybe look at your name.

Really. I mean, "MEMESiSZ"? That's, like, a capslock error and a typo in one.

[JMHX]

At 2/24/03 09:28 PM, Nevah73 wrote: Or maybe look at your name.

Really. I mean, "MEMESiSZ"? That's, like, a capslock error and a typo in one.

Do we have to bicker like little children or can we have ONE intelligent debate that doesn't go all to hell?

[Sweden-Forever]

i'll show you public domain

[JMHX]

At 2/24/03 09:43 PM, old_school_fat_strat wrote: i'll show you public domain

Not in front of the children, you won't.

[NEMESiSZ]

At 2/24/03 09:28 PM, Nevah73 wrote: Or maybe look at your name.

Really. I mean, "MEMESiSZ"? That's, like, a capslock error and a typo in one.

If you're going to insult someone else's nick at least spell it correctly...

[TheEvilOne]

At 2/24/03 08:54 PM, implodinggoat wrote: Some things are good enough that they will be profitable forever. Don't you think that there should be a limit?

I was asking about what the law is, not about what it should be.

[Ted-Easton]

At 2/24/03 09:37 PM, JudgeMeHarshX wrote:

Do we have to bicker like little children or can we have ONE intelligent debate that doesn't go all to hell?

Is that an actual question? I would think the answer should be an obvious, resonding NO.

[Slizor]

Having Slizor agree with you is like having 5 people disagree with you.

I agree.

[PreacherJ]

I've been wondering about the 75 year thing for Disney. It's nice to see someone tackling it.

Anywho-
I think that Disney should be able to retain the rights, as long as it's kept within the family of the original creator. When they die out, I think it should become public domain, or if it's within the 75 yrs., whomever they leave it to.

[JMHX]

Technically, Walt is still alive. If you consider "In my freezer" still alive. It depends on what your definition of the word "alive" is.

[PreacherJ]

At 2/26/03 09:49 AM, JudgeMeHarshX wrote: Technically, Walt is still alive. If you consider "In my freezer" still alive. It depends on what your definition of the word "alive" is.

That's a well-known Urban Legend, but if you do the research, you'll find he was actually cremated.