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hunter

(38,264 posts)
26. Existing patent and copyright law are impeding human progress.
Mon Jan 13, 2014, 02:10 PM
Jan 2014

I think patents and copyrights ought to have a very short life if they pass to third party for-profit corporations.

Certainly, let artists pass patents and copyrights to wife, kids, grandkids, and other intimate relationships of the author; do let copyrights and patents support family known to the author.

But limit the time unrelated parties can control patents and copyrights

If I ever write something brilliant and profitable, yes, I might want the money going to known family after I'm dead.

Maybe corporations only ought to be able to buy time-limited leases on patents and copyrights from the artist or their name-designated heirs. After that the art would revert back to the artist's named family or be released to humanity in the public domain.

In the case of patents involving life-saving technology (pharmaceuticals, etc.) I think patents ought to be subject to eminent domain (nationalization and release to the public domain) whenever the owners of these patent are found to be restricting supply for egregious profit.

Wow shenmue Jan 2014 #1
Isn't Sherlock public domain by now? NV Whino Jan 2014 #2
I thought I saw that recently, too. treestar Jan 2014 #5
Judge recently ruled that it is. LisaL Jan 2014 #6
But that would only apply in America, right? Not England. randome Jan 2014 #7
I have no idea. LisaL Jan 2014 #9
That's what I would think. randome Jan 2014 #12
In the UK, for written work, it's 70 years after the author died muriel_volestrangler Jan 2014 #22
Sounds like a lot of whining from the relatives, then. randome Jan 2014 #23
She's not a relative of Conan Doyle; she says her mother bought the rights muriel_volestrangler Jan 2014 #24
Huh. Interesting. I just assumed. Thanks for the info and the links. randome Jan 2014 #25
In America only... except for the last 10 stories as written by Doyle released in the US after 1922 Lost_Count Jan 2014 #8
Should be. lumberjack_jeff Jan 2014 #21
Sounds like a three-pipe problem... Blue Owl Jan 2014 #3
Well played! JNelson6563 Jan 2014 #11
In "Elementary", I'm not seeing where she has a solid enough claim. RC Jan 2014 #4
Nor me and by the way dipsydoodle Jan 2014 #16
Damn. I shut off my cable a couple months back. randome Jan 2014 #10
Do you have a Roku box? PBS is a free station. FSogol Jan 2014 #13
We watched Seasons 1 and 2 and my daughters fell in love with the characters. randome Jan 2014 #15
Only out in England. Think it premieres on PBS in the US this Sunday. n/t FSogol Jan 2014 #17
Ah. Did not know that. They're probably available for download or viewing somewhere now, though. randome Jan 2014 #18
Netflix will stream them eventually. NV Whino Jan 2014 #14
My cable provider doesn't provide BBC. Vashta Nerada Jan 2014 #19
doesn't provide BBC ? dipsydoodle Jan 2014 #20
Twin Cities Public Television will be airing Series 4 of Sherlock starting on Sunday. Rosco T. Jan 2014 #27
Indeed. Vashta Nerada Jan 2014 #28
Existing patent and copyright law are impeding human progress. hunter Jan 2014 #26
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