https://today.duke.edu/2020/01/welcome-r...lic-domain
The new year brings new treasures for the public domain, and Duke’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain is keeping track of what is becoming available in 2020.
The treasures this year include still lively songs such as George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and classic literature such as E.M. Forster’s “Passage to India” and Thomas Mann’s “The Magic Mountain.” Legendary films entering the public domain include Buster Keaton’s “Sherlock, Jr.” and a pair of films by Harold Lloyd.
Jennifer Jenkins, a professor at Duke law school and director of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain, made the rounds of national media channels this week explaining why the public domain is important.
As Jenkins told National Public Radio, copyright rewards artists and provides a financial model for the support of the arts and of artists. “Rhapsody in Blue” has continued to bring in significant royalties to the Gershwin state. But for most works, prolonged copyright merely means works of art fade into obscurity.
The United States is unique in granting 95-year copyrights, Jenkins said. After significant lobbying from large entertainment corporations, Congress extended copyright for 20 additional years from 75 to 95. In some cases, that extension can literally mean the death of the works, as film and audio originals disintegrate beyond repair.
Well, I'm glad the copyright on these works expired eventually... the Gershwin estate couldn't profit off Rhapsody in Blue forever, considering it was written 95 years ago and its composer died 82 years ago (83 later this year).
Still, it does suck that it's causing works to be lost forever in some cases. There is a "Fair Use" exemption for the purposes of preservation, but that's only useful if the people who want to preserve the works can access them...
The new year brings new treasures for the public domain, and Duke’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain is keeping track of what is becoming available in 2020.
The treasures this year include still lively songs such as George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and classic literature such as E.M. Forster’s “Passage to India” and Thomas Mann’s “The Magic Mountain.” Legendary films entering the public domain include Buster Keaton’s “Sherlock, Jr.” and a pair of films by Harold Lloyd.
Jennifer Jenkins, a professor at Duke law school and director of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain, made the rounds of national media channels this week explaining why the public domain is important.
As Jenkins told National Public Radio, copyright rewards artists and provides a financial model for the support of the arts and of artists. “Rhapsody in Blue” has continued to bring in significant royalties to the Gershwin state. But for most works, prolonged copyright merely means works of art fade into obscurity.
The United States is unique in granting 95-year copyrights, Jenkins said. After significant lobbying from large entertainment corporations, Congress extended copyright for 20 additional years from 75 to 95. In some cases, that extension can literally mean the death of the works, as film and audio originals disintegrate beyond repair.
Well, I'm glad the copyright on these works expired eventually... the Gershwin estate couldn't profit off Rhapsody in Blue forever, considering it was written 95 years ago and its composer died 82 years ago (83 later this year).
Still, it does suck that it's causing works to be lost forever in some cases. There is a "Fair Use" exemption for the purposes of preservation, but that's only useful if the people who want to preserve the works can access them...
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