1st Dread Pirate Roberts 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: VP Of EU Commission On Copyright Reform: 'I'd Sing You Happy Birthday, But I Don't Want To Have To Pay The Royalties'

    1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 05 Jul, 2014 @ 10:44am

    Short copyright history

    http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1a.html

    Notable Dates in United States Copyright

    August 18, 1787
    James Madison submitted to the framers of the Constitution a provision “to secure to literary authors their copyrights for a limited time.”

    June 23, 1789
    First federal bill relating to copyrights (H.R. 10) presented to the first Congress.

    May 31, 1790
    First copyright law enacted under the new U.S. Constitution. Term of 14 years with privilege of renewal for term of 14 years. Books, maps, and charts protected. Copyright registration made in the U.S. District Court where the author or proprietor resided.

    June 9, 1790
    First copyright entry, The Philadelphia Spelling Book by John Barry, registered in the U.S. District Court of Pennsylvania.

    April 29, 1802
    Prints added to protected works.



    July 1, 1909
    Effective date of third general revision of the copyright law. Admission of certain classes of unpublished works to copyright registration. Term of statutory protection for a work copyrighted in published form measured from the date of publication of the work. Renewal term extended from 14 to 28 years.



    January 1, 1978
    Effective date of principal provisions of the 1976 copyright law. The term of protection for works created on or after this date consists of the life of the author and 50 years after the author's death. Numerous other provisions modernized the law.



    June 26, 1992
    Renewal registration became optional. Works copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977, automatically renewed even if registration not made.



    October 27, 1998
    The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act extended the term of copyright protection for most works to the life of the author plus 70 years after the author’s death.

  • On the post: VP Of EU Commission On Copyright Reform: 'I'd Sing You Happy Birthday, But I Don't Want To Have To Pay The Royalties'

    1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 05 Jul, 2014 @ 10:28am

    Sherlock Holmes

    Here is an example of how weird copyright has become. Every Sherlock Holmes story prior to about 1910 (or 1915ish), is in the public domain. The estate of Doyle claims that all Sherlock Holmes work is copyrighted, because the character is not fully developed until the final stories. (Why do we pass on copyrights to estates for such an insane period of time?)

    Anyway, it was determined recently that only characters, plots, and such in the final few books are still under copyright. And look what has happened with Sherlock Holmes after it came out of copyright. Hundreds of actors, a gazillion movies and TV episodes.

    That's what we have to look forward to when these unconscionable copyright terms expire.

  • On the post: VP Of EU Commission On Copyright Reform: 'I'd Sing You Happy Birthday, But I Don't Want To Have To Pay The Royalties'

    1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 04 Jul, 2014 @ 04:57pm

    OK, people, you've got Copyright wrong

    Prior to copyright in England, creators owned works essentially forever. Copyright forced works into the public domain, with a limited time period for them to earn compensation from their work. If you wanted a continuing income stream, you created new works.

    Now, copyright lasts longer than the lifetime of the majority of the population. To me, that's like having no copyright law at all.

    Snow White, from the 30s. Star Wars is protected until about 2047 or something. Are you copyright supporters really trying to say the creators haven't received a sufficient return on their works?

    I think copyright reform should limit terms to, say, no more than 35 years with one renewal. Corporations would not have the right to renewal. It would no longer be life plus some period of time. It would be life plus a period of time not to exceed 70 years.

    Think about it. A work published in 1950 would still be protected until 2020. Certainly they can recover their investment and a fair return by then.

  • On the post: Emails Show Cozy Relationship Between Comcast Execs And DOJ Antitrust Folks; Party Invitation Blocked By 'Rules Folks'

    1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 04 Jul, 2014 @ 02:46pm

    Time to resign, Renata

    I think it is time for Renata to resign from government service. She has demonstrated that she cannot be trusted to make impartial decisions. At the very least she should recuse herself from this decision.

    The best we could hope for, in this case, is for it to be referred to the ALJ.

  • On the post: Emails Show Cozy Relationship Between Comcast Execs And DOJ Antitrust Folks; Party Invitation Blocked By 'Rules Folks'

    1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 04 Jul, 2014 @ 02:44pm

    Heap burning coals on their head

    Wow, sleeping with the enemy. I never thought about doing that. We are always told to avoid even the appearance of partiality and impropriety.

  • On the post: Aereo Fallout Begins: Fox Uses Ruling To Attack Dish's Mobile Streaming Service

    1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 28 Jun, 2014 @ 09:06pm

    Sell the equipment

    Some of the disqussion I've heard about aero is that they retransmit "about the same time" as the transmission which is freely available through public airwaves. If I could hook up an HD antenna to my phone I could pick up the signals. So, what if:

    1. They delayed the retransmission (some sites said maybe 10 minutes, what about an hour?)
    2. What if they SOLD the equipment to the subscribers rather than renting it? Maybe $99 or $129 depending upon the amount of data storage you want. They would just be another cloud service. In fact, they could encrypt the signals when recorded, and decrypt them only on the subscriber's system. Now it CAN'T be a public performance.

    Let's be real, here. You only get the signals for your local area. You can't get Chicago channels if you live in New York. Some of us live in areas where there are NO channels via HD. Our options are limited. Lucky guys.

  • On the post: New Research Shows Digitization Results In Routine Lock-Down Of Public Domain Books

    1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 25 Jun, 2014 @ 11:32am

    Har!

    Prior to copyright enactment in England, authors had full control of works, essentially forever. Copyright law was intended to force works into the public domain. If you wanted a continuing income stream, you needed to produce new works. You were granted a limited period during which to earn income from your works.

    Copyright has been turned on its head. Thanks to that %$%*@
    Sonny Bono, copyright lasts longer than the lifespan of almost the entire population. That's like not having a copyright law at all.

  • On the post: The Government's Antipathy Towards Transparency Has Made FOIA Lawsuits The Default Process

    1st Dread Pirate Roberts ( profile ), 13 May, 2014 @ 12:31pm

    We do have the power

    We have the power to reform the government, but it would take a concerted effort by the entire country to vote out the roadblocks. Congress enters reelection mode the day after the last election results are certified.

    I personally think anyone who registers as a candidate for President should have to resign any public office they currently hold (federal or state). If you can run around campaigning and still hold your position in Congress (or governor) and nobody misses you, you're not working hard enough, or don't have enough work to do.

    Some even run for vice president, lose, and just go back to their positions in the Senate. It might eliminate all of those frivilous candidates if they had to resign their jobs.