What is copyrighted?

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Morkonan
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Re: What is copyrighted?

Post by Morkonan » Sat, 30. Mar 19, 18:37

Alee Enn wrote:
Sat, 30. Mar 19, 15:24
...I'd like to try to start compiling a list of what to and not to do to comply with the EUCD, but I don't think there's enough information yet.
You're probably overthinking it a little bit. Unless you are intimately involved with the commercial side of copyright and trademark law, there's not really much you should be concerned with as far as I can tell from what I have read of the E.U. law.

They don't want you. They don't want some game company's website where a user might post a link to something or has a Mickey Mouse avatar. Even Disney, the most litigious company on teh Earf that jealously guards and stewards its entirely library of intellectual property doesn't want "you." The law is designed to go over content-thieves relabeling the work/articles produced by others so they can draw attention to their website for commercial advertising hits and running the gambit of fraud for a quick payback. They want to force hosts like Youtube to steward their websites to prevent someone from uploading "The Bridge on the River Kwai" in its entirety, in 12 minute segments, in order to make money off of the ads that are placed in it.

Even if someone wanted to come after you, you'd likely get a Cease and Desist letter and that would be it, since showing "damages" would be a bit problematic and pursuing anything further would cost real money.

If you are somehow making extensive use of third-party intellectual property, then you'll have to sharpen your pencil a bit. But, if not, don't worry about it. Teh Interwebz meme community has gone overboard ranting about this. Sure, I think that's fine and we need some people out there fighting for creative freedom and all that, but only up to the point where they start getting irrational about it.

IF the E.U. does, in fact, go overboard with this thing and starts to look at casual artistic expression artistically using third-party intellectual property that can be said to bring additional meaning and content to what has been created by the user, then my opinion would change and likely the opinion of many in the E.U.

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Chips
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Re: What is copyrighted?

Post by Chips » Mon, 1. Apr 19, 20:35

felter wrote:
Wed, 27. Mar 19, 19:00
Myself I just don't get copyright at all, fullstop. I just don't get how someone can do some work and still get paid for that work 50 years later after making several hundreds of millions (in any currency) from that work. It's not right or fair don't get me wrong I think everyone is entitled to make a fair share on their work but many, many years later to still think and demand that you still be paid for some work you did in an afternoon.
Well, consider this. You do some work, it's copyrighted and people pay to enjoy it or use it for whatever purpose (license).

Now imagine you do something brilliant - a song, a picture, but there's no such thing as copyright. Someone else comes along goes "oo, i like that - and now I shall use it" and they sell it to make HUGE amounts of money.

Copyright prevents people's work being exploited for profit by others. That's about the long and short of it. Big business cannot (although notably many have tried) just lift YOUR work and then make money out of it to their benefit, without compensating you.

I genuinely do not see what's so hard to understand on that point. It may be 20 years later, it still doesn't mean big business can just take what isn't theirs and make huge sums of money without compensating. Worse still, they may try to control it and use their power to overpower you.

I used to work for a company that had "Sky" in it's name (no, not THAT sky, a small start up which referring to colours of the sky). They got a legal letter from THAT Sky threatening court action to protect their interest. It was insane, i'm sure the company would have won if they stood their ground, but they caved and spent thousands rebranding.

You can say copyright protects big business and enables unfair practices - perhaps. But it is the same protections we all enjoy. If it weren't there... then I believe you'd find most content creators get zero reward for their work.
You may not like the length of time copyrights exist for, but it's long enough to protect someone within their lifetime.

There are cases where it should be challenged and perhaps overturned though - but those are usually "patents" (such as for drugs). If a drug (for example) cured all cancer forms, it should very rapidly be bought by the UN made freely licensed for member states to produce. The company finding it should be compensated richly, but they should not be able to hold humanity to ransom for profit.

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Re: What is copyrighted?

Post by pjknibbs » Tue, 2. Apr 19, 08:11

Chips wrote:
Mon, 1. Apr 19, 20:35
Copyright prevents people's work being exploited for profit by others. That's about the long and short of it. Big business cannot (although notably many have tried) just lift YOUR work and then make money out of it to their benefit, without compensating you.

I genuinely do not see what's so hard to understand on that point. It may be 20 years later, it still doesn't mean big business can just take what isn't theirs and make huge sums of money without compensating. Worse still, they may try to control it and use their power to overpower you.
I'm pretty sure he knows that. I think what he's complaining about is the *length* of copyright. In the US, at least, copyright seems to get extended every time there's a risk that Disney icons like Mickey Mouse will come out of copyright--it's going to be interesting to see what happens on the next such occasion in 2024.

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Chips
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Re: What is copyrighted?

Post by Chips » Tue, 2. Apr 19, 21:02

pjknibbs wrote:
Tue, 2. Apr 19, 08:11
I'm pretty sure he knows that. I think what he's complaining about is the *length* of copyright. In the US, at least, copyright seems to get extended every time there's a risk that Disney icons like Mickey Mouse will come out of copyright--it's going to be interesting to see what happens on the next such occasion in 2024.
Erm, not sure why that'd matter - but that's me responding to a specific? Copyright for the movies first made in the 1920's, whereas the trademark would stop you using the Mickey Mouse name or creating your own version isn't it? However, guessing it's less to do with Disney characters in this instance :D Need some examples, as otherwise far too generic :D

Copyrights are for artistic stuff, so I'd find arguments against it's length to be harder to justify than, for example, patents. But i guess in reference to the original post - more to do with quoting news on the forum? Dunno. The fault isn't with copyright, it's with a badly drawn up law at that point.

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Morkonan
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Re: What is copyrighted?

Post by Morkonan » Tue, 2. Apr 19, 22:44

pjknibbs wrote:
Tue, 2. Apr 19, 08:11
I'm pretty sure he knows that. I think what he's complaining about is the *length* of copyright. In the US, at least, copyright seems to get extended every time there's a risk that Disney icons like Mickey Mouse will come out of copyright--it's going to be interesting to see what happens on the next such occasion in 2024.
And, "Trademarks" don't have such restrictions, which is why "images" like Mickey Mouse are "Trademarked." BUT, there are some real problems with applying Trademark protections to something like Mickey Mouse. (Btw, that expiration is for the original work, not for the entire lexicon of Mickey Mouses or the Mickey Mouse IP as a whole.)

I don't think Disney is going to risk challenging Trademark law for an old depiction of Mickey Mouse. It "might," but what happens if it loses? Having the "threat" still existing may be worth more to them than winning a Trademark case for a Mickey Mouse that isn't the Mickey Mouse we know today. Dunno - Disney will crucify puppies to retain complete control over its IP. And, to be honest, I don't have an issue with that if use falls outside of "Fair Use."

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