> Since Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson are still alive, at least 70 years (the
> copyright office still says 70 years, not 75 or 90) after both of them
> are dead. That gives you some idea of just how eternal copyright is :)
Hmm...
I wonder if the copyright status is transferrable from a person to a
buisness? Neither Gary nor Dave still own the copyright to D&D, so won't it
be covered by a buisness copyright law?
Gotta find a lawyer...
> That can happen just as easily now as it could have then -- the original
> term of protection was 28 years *from date of publication or registration
> *, more than enough time to benefit from it yourself. The death+70 term
> provides no protection from having a company take your copyright from
> you, as is standard for game publishing :)
No, it's a lot harder. You'd have to get the poor berk to sign away his
rights... back then, someone could just take it without paying him at all.
> What exactly does that have to do with excessive terms of copyright that
> exist only to benefit corporations founded on the wealth generated by a
> dead person's work?
You're confusing the motive of the lobbyist (Disney) with the motive of the
law. Disney made a convincing argument, and Congress listened. Or, you
could say that Disney bribed Congress--in which case, you can probably get
them both for bribery and have the Court throw out the law.
> >(And *YES*, I consider Copyright on par with Civil Rights!)
>
> Why?
Because, just as I or anyone else should have the right to get fair
treatment before the law, we also have the right to create something and
then control it.
DM
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