I think copyright is moral, proper. I think a creator has the right to control the disposition of his or her works – I actually believe that the financial issue is less important than the integrity of the work, the attribution, that kind of stuff.
Esther Dyson
I think copyright is moral, proper
This content has been archived. It may no longer be accurate or relevant.
Is copyright 75 or 95 years beyond the death of the author? Either way, that is beyond ridiculous. Whose Mickey Mouse idea was it to make copyright last so long?
Sonny Bono.
But who were the lobbyists funding him (other than Mary Bono)? Or do we assume he just wanted the royalties from “I Got You Babe” to last longer*?
* I’ve actually no idea if the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act affected sound recordings, but in the UK a bunch of 60s artists definitely did get involved in campaigning for the 20 year extension to the copyright term (they needed it to provide their pensions).
The lobbyists?
The usual suspects from corporate media.
You have to understand IdiotPoliticians™ are cheap to buy.
Getting them to *stay* bought is the challenge.
The shorter the copyright, the sooner we can all benefit from Winnie The Pooh serial killers.
Milne should’ve trademarked his characters.
Burroughs did, a hundred years ago.
So did Warner and Disney.
Copyright isn’t the only way to protect IP.
Do you have a favorite go-to book on how an author can trademark characters? I’ve invested over two decades in mine already; I’d like to make sure no one else messes with them. Thanks.
No. That would be a question for a legal eagle.
But for a quickie guide:
https://www.mekiplaw.com/how-to-trademark-a-character-an-easy-guide/
In general the character name and traits need to be central to your business. Defining it in a way that makes it specific to the story(ies) and *unique* is essential. And hard.
For fiction writers I suspect it might be more fruitful to trademark your brand than the characters. Say the overarching title of a series.
But again: that’s lawyer turf. I don’t even play one online. 😉
The financial issue is the major reason for maintaining control of one’s work. If there are no benefits to controlling the “integrity of the work,” there’s no point in seeking copyright protection.
Don’t discount Ego.