Bob
Orphaned works doctrine has always been in force. However to my
knowledge it was limited to those having an interest in creation.
So if Superman Comics #1 fell into the public domain within the time
frame it can be held in copyright (75 years or whatever), then Siegel
& Shuster could file for "assignment of rights" singly or together.
That could be challenged by others involved such as the Heirs of
Malcolm Wheeler Nicholson etc
Rich=======
At 08:20 PM 8/24/2008, Robert D. Brooks wrote:
Don't forget the 'orphaned works' crap the lobbyists are trying to
get passed now. I don't know why they call it 'orphaned works,' it
really should be called the 'license for multinational corporations
to blatantly steal artist's works law.' But, then again, isn't it
required for all new US laws to have a hypocritical, Orwellian title
nowadays?...
----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>Richard Halegua Comic Art
To: <mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
Sent: Sunday, August 24, 2008 4:20 PM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] McCain Ad Featuring The Ten Commadments
At 10:34 AM 8/24/2008, CK MacLeod wrote:
Interesting observations, Rich. I always enjoy getting the benefit
of your experience in copyright-related issues. (BTW, on that
note, would you agree with me that Ron's interpretation of First
Sale is ill-founded in the case of "stolen" goods?)
Concerning posters etc.
there is a Federal law & there are state laws concerning theft of property.
In New York there is an art & antiquities law that concerns theft.
If you are the victim of a theft of a Rembrandt painting in 1971,
however because the painting was in your basement and you haven't
been down there since 1965 and this year you discover it is missing,
the clock on Statute of Limitations does not start running until you
discover the theft and then the 5 year statute begins. So being
stolen in 1971 doesn't mean anything necessarily. Furthermore, you
can keep the statute alive past 5 years as long as you can prove
that you are continuing to pursue the return of the painting. That
can entail just a single letter for instance to a gallery owner
asking if he has been able to track the painting just one time a
year. The law constitutes that as an activity on your part to
retrieve the art and when or if it does come back up.
However, by that law, if you discover the theft, never report it and
never pursue it's return, you could be relenquishing any claim to
the art in the future.. It's called "abandonment of property" So by
that standard, the Producers of movie posters for instance are most
likely abandoning their property through inaction
Also, copyright has become a very convoluted situation since the
many revisals of copyright law by Congress during the past 30 years
There is quite a bit of material that had been in the public domain
under old law that has been recaptured due to newer laws.
Disney & Universal are serious beneficiaries of this. There is a
whole segment of Disney material in print & on film that was
recaptured and under old copyright law, all of the Universal Horrors
would have fallen into PD years ago had Congress - ushered by and
lobbied by Disney for one and many corps otherwise - not taken the
laws under review & extended copyright protections. For instance,
Frankenstein would have been PD in 1988 (28+28 years), but now won't
be PD until sometime between 2015 & 2020 which is an extension of 30
years +/- from original law which stood for more than 200 years.
From the public's view, it is an ill-focused waste of Congress's
time. But it follows the philosophy of government to protect
corporations from being affected by the same benefits they
themselves have benefited from. You don't think that any publisher
pays royalties to the Mark Twain or Shakespeare estates do you?? Or
that Disney pays anything to the Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm family for
Snow White or that Universal paid one penny to the estate of Mary
Shelley in 1931, and yet these companies have made 100s of millions
of dollars off the backs of these people.
I'm waiting for these companies and Congress to create new law yet
which would entail permanent copyright status for all corporations
until the end of time, even as these companies use material - for
which they will continue to pay nothing - from people who have no
such protections.
Keep in mind that one thing that happens - and Disney being one of
the most benefited - is that soon before something is to go PD,
these companies lobby again for a lengthier time period of copyright
protection and because they can afford to pay tens of millions to
lobby the lawmakers - while smaller entities, including individuals
cannot afford the same and are left out in the cold. This is how the
copyright laws have been re-written every few years since 1978
extending further and further protections to those who can afford to lobby
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