Copyright can be confusing to understand. It varies in most countries for example in the UK, copyright lasts 70 years after the authors death, when the rights are then passed on to the author's estate/relatives. The graph below shows just how much copyright changes across borders.
So, indeed the debate as to whether or not copyright should last so long in certain places including the US and UK was sparked years ago, reaching no considerable conclusions. Matthew Yglesias from Fair.org says "The culture is allowing a huge number of books to go unread–just to allow publishers to make a relatively small amount of profit from the tiny minority of 89-to-21-year-old books that still get read." He is against 70 year long copyrights. Although he makes valid points in his article I take the side of the many struggling authors who believe copyright to be a protection of their literary rights. It can take years sometimes for an author's work to be noticed and they deserve recognition and stability from what they create.
Have opinions changed because of digital?
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Society may benefit from being able to use other people's creativity sooner than say 50-70 years which is the current time allowed by law. In a world where everything on the internet is being downloaded for free and the amount of traffic is making it harder and harder to find culprits punishable for breaking copyright should we be so strict with our copyright licensing? Victor Keegan in his article says that "most sales of books and music happen a few months after release." and while this may be true do we just push aside people's rights so that we can have cheaper versions of books that in todays market are already quite cheap anyway.
In terms of e-books, publishers have become terrified of the main threats of infringement, piracy and the breaking of copyright that they now "don't issue licenses for loaning out e-books." (Schmundt, 2014) Copyright laws have become very strict. Many e-books exist solely on closed, private platforms such as Apple I-Books where a paid subscription or password is needed.
The basic principle of an creator owning the rights to their creations has been the basis for how publishing has been practised ever since the first books published. Copyright helps to enrich the intellectual and economic status of the industry because it encourages author creativity if they know their work will be protected (Hall, 2013). Internet, as it first principles, believes in openness without boundaries. Therefore, is copyright limiting freedom in this new digital era?
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References
Hall, F (2013). The Business of Digital Publishing: An Introduction to the Digital Book and Journal Industries. London: Routledge. Part 3, Section 10.
Keegan, V. (2007). How long should copyright last?. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/nov/29/comment.intellectualproperty. Last accessed 25th October 2015.
Schmundt, H. (2014). The Digital Paradox: How Copyright Laws Keep E-Books Locked Up. Available: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/how-copyright-laws-prevent-easy-sharing-of-e-books-a-961333.html. Last accessed 25th October 2015.
In terms of e-books, publishers have become terrified of the main threats of infringement, piracy and the breaking of copyright that they now "don't issue licenses for loaning out e-books." (Schmundt, 2014) Copyright laws have become very strict. Many e-books exist solely on closed, private platforms such as Apple I-Books where a paid subscription or password is needed.
The basic principle of an creator owning the rights to their creations has been the basis for how publishing has been practised ever since the first books published. Copyright helps to enrich the intellectual and economic status of the industry because it encourages author creativity if they know their work will be protected (Hall, 2013). Internet, as it first principles, believes in openness without boundaries. Therefore, is copyright limiting freedom in this new digital era?
Words: 418
References
Hall, F (2013). The Business of Digital Publishing: An Introduction to the Digital Book and Journal Industries. London: Routledge. Part 3, Section 10.
Keegan, V. (2007). How long should copyright last?. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/nov/29/comment.intellectualproperty. Last accessed 25th October 2015.
Schmundt, H. (2014). The Digital Paradox: How Copyright Laws Keep E-Books Locked Up. Available: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/how-copyright-laws-prevent-easy-sharing-of-e-books-a-961333.html. Last accessed 25th October 2015.