[Dixielandjazz] Internet broadcasting

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

In US laws are complicated but involve terms such as "70 years
> after the copyright holder's death".
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I'm sure that will change again when the "mouse" comes up for renewal
and there is a Republican congress.  I have little problem with protecting
what one might call national treasures.  I think that Mickey Mouse might 
just
come under that category and I would have no problem with a specific law for
each one instance after the normal copyright had run out.  This would be
similar to the national landmark laws that could extend specific works
deemed national treasures or works but if the trend continues here works
will be extended forever.

The law was sort of orderly before and did allow works to come out into the 
public domain in a predictable manner.

That is good for people who own copyrights but constitutes a nightmare for
everyone else.  It's impossible to find out when each person who contributed
to a copywrited work, such as arrangers etc., died.  It would have been a
whole lot better to put a specific number of years on them from the date of
registering the copyright sort of like a patent.

The reason patents run out is so that technology can be shared which is 
generally  recognized as a good thing.  If that didn't happen we would still 
have an Edison Company that would have a monopoly on light bulbs and this 
would stifle commerce.  Of course if Edison were alive he would agree that 
he and his family should have his patents forever.  If that had happened we 
would have one movie company and one light bulb company and about a hundred 
other companies owned by the Edison family.  Great for them but not great 
for the country.

I would think that a person or family should have to renew these things 
rather than just letting them go almost forever.

If more music was in the public domain then we might have more of the music 
that was composed 75 years ago being performed or recorded if anyone could 
just do it.  Then again maybe not.
Larry
St. Louis


Larry
St. Louis