SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
https://boingboing.net/2018/05/18/orrin-fucking-hatch.html
https://www.wired.com/story/congress-latest-move-to-extend-copyright-protection-is-misguided/
Almost exactly 20 years ago, Congress passed the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, which extended the term of existing copyrights by 20 years. The Act was the 11th extension in the prior 40 years, timed perfectly to assure that certain famous works, including Mickey Mouse, would not pass into the public domain.
[...] Twenty years later, the fight for term extension has begun anew. Buried in an otherwise harmless act, passed by the House and now being considered in the Senate, this new bill purports to create a new digital performance right—basically the right to control copies of recordings on any digital platform (ever hear of the internet?)—for musical recordings made before 1972. These recordings would now have a new right, protected until 2067, which, for some, means a total term of protection of 144 years. The beneficiaries of this monopoly need do nothing to get the benefit of this gift. They don’t have to make the work available. Nor do they have to register their claims in advance.
That this statute has nothing to do with the constitutional purpose of “promot[ing] Progress” is clear from its very title. The “Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service, and Important Contributions to Society Act” (or CLASSICS) is as blatant a gift without any public return as is conceivable. And it's not just a gift through cash; it's a gift through a monopoly regulation of speech. Archives with recordings of music from the 1930s or 1940s would now have to clear permission before streaming their musical content even if the underlying work was in the public domain.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by opinionated_science on Monday May 21 2018, @12:56PM (4 children)
I'd reduce it to 10 years - I'm not sure anything I've done in digital has lasted longer than 5!!!
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @04:31PM (2 children)
Just make it 5. Extendable a few times for up to 10 total years. For a (good) price.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Monday May 21 2018, @11:28PM (1 child)
That's good. Short automatic copyright, pay to unlock extensions (much shorter than under previous laws). Could help generate some revenue.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 22 2018, @09:39AM
What we need is short 'Free to Play' copyrights, followed by *LOOT BOXES* which may allow copyright extensions, but only after you buy *KEYS* from the G-Store! G-Store keys may unlock boxes that contain nothing, boxes that contain useless paper of lesser quantity than you paid for them, or *GASP* A Copyright Extension! By doing this, only companies that pay huge sums directly to the US Government will be able to have their copyright extensions, and in this way we can slowly monetize them to their full potential for the good of all Americans and the benefit of public domain and copyright the world over!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 22 2018, @06:49AM
Even if it lasted longer it shouldn't matter. Plenty of movies will last longer than that but the better ones make a profit in less than a year some even within the opening weekend.
So it's ridiculous that that copyright terms are ten times longer in the supposedly faster paced modern age with supposedly more efficient distribution and delivery than the old days.
Maybe if copyright terms were significantly shorter Microsoft will have more pressure to release versions of Windows and Microsoft Office etc that are actually better rather than just different/worse.