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What will enter the public domain in 2026?

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Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#261

Post by throw0101c »

bnj wrote: post #198
sp0rk wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Fantasy book are a good example. A Games of Thrones was first released in 1996 but had middling success. It was only after 2011 that the series exploded in popularity. Good Omens main peak was ~15 years after release. Hell, some books like Handmaiden's Tale were published in 1985 but only reached their peak in 2010. Using your example and the rules suggested in the grandparent post, GRRM's copyright would have been…

Keep in mind that under such a system, corporations would have a financial incentive to wait just a bit longer to do an adaptation

> Keep in mind that under such a system, corporations would have a financial incentive to wait just a bit longer to do an adaptation

Meanwhile they are currently buying up IP and locking it up for decades in such a way that no one can build on it.

Sherlock Holmes, who was created in the 1800s, only became public domain (but not all of it) a few years ago:

* https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/27/sherlock-holme...

* https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2025/01/how-sherlo...

BigCorps could do a lot of things under a new regime, but they are already doing shitty things. I'd rather deal with the current problems and then see if/what kind of new issues crop up, and then course-correct then.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#262

Post by gwbas1c »

ssl-3 wrote: post #237
gwbas1c wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we should mix in some compulsory licensing: IE, the copyright holder has exclusive rights for a period of time, and then afterwards there is a formula that's used to allow anyone to re-publish. It will help handle abandonware where the rightsholder can't be bothered to publish something; tries to limit where something is published; or otherwise tries to hold the fee artificially high. (This could be used, for…

Let's work through this statutory licensing concept. A work is published. Sometime later, the entity that created it falls off the face of the earth. The work is thus very much abandoned, and it remains copyrighted anyway. But tomorrow, that work will enter the timeframe where anyone can pay to license and publish it however they wish. And it just so happens that you wish to license this work and publish it as an ebo…

That's a good question. IMO:

1: The formula dictates what you pay.

2: The money goes into a government-controlled escrow account.

At that point, the rights holder has a reasonable amount of time (years) to claim the money. Otherwise, if the rightsholder doesn't come forward, the money is forfeited.

(What happens to the money at that point? I think this is a great thing for people to argue about while the rest of us get the kind of copyright reform we need.)

(Likewise, what happens if the money gets refunded to someone impersonating the rights holder? That's also a wonderful thing to let people argue about while we get the kind of copyright reform we need.)

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#263

Post by [deleted] »

zelphirkalt wrote: post #244
dismantlethesun wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Corporations have hijacked a concept that should exist on human timescales. I feel like this is true, but anytime I speak with colleagues in the arts (even UX and visual designers), they all say they are happy with copyright being lifetime of the owner + XX years. They (a) want the income for their legacy in case their products are still in use or appreciated decades later and (b) they want to control the output of…

Sounds a bit unlikely, that most of them will make a living with stuff older than 14 or 28 years, their legacy creations. Sounds more like they are chasing a dream, which most likely will not be achieved by most of them.

[deleted]

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#264

Post by codyb »

hgomersall wrote: post #258
gwbas1c wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course they do, their bias is to keep all the cards in their favor. Our (the consumer's) bias is to shorten copyright. Remember, ultimately it is the consumer who pays the creator; thus the consumer has a vested interest in negotiating how long copyright should last.

Which is absurd, because most creators would benefit hugely from an expanded public domain.

I think citation would be needed on this. Obviously any artist producing fully original music or art doesn't.

And many content creators might benefit from an expanded public domain, or they might not... There's already tons of creators, they seem to be getting by? Well, actually, some are getting by and most are probably hobbyists or underwater much like most arts. I'm not sure expanded quantities of available characters would necessarily change much.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#265

Post by ssl-3 »

mrec wrote: post #254
ssl-3 wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

14+14=28 years. That minimum being proposed here is longer than a patent lasts for. Why should we protect the work of an author for a lengthier term than that of an inventor? (And remember: It's really not my problem, as a regular Joe, when an author or inventor creates something that doesn't catch on right away -- if at all. Success is not guaranteed.)

> Why should we protect the work of an author for a lengthier term than that of an inventor? Well, independently coming up with the same solution to a given problem is a lot more likely than independently writing the same novel. Personally, the chilling of independent invention is the thing I find most obnoxious about patents.

I might independently invent a cartoon character of a black mouse with a tan face that wears white gloves and red bibs and wish to publish a comic book featuring that character on the cover, but I'll never be able to do that -- no matter how long I wait: We have trademark law in the way.

Trademarks can go away by various mechanisms, but they never automatically time out as a mere function of the calendar. As long as Disney keeps using Mickey Mouse, they will retain and defend this well-known trademark and others will most assuredly be forbidden from using it. It will be impossible for me to outlive The Walt Disney Company.

The addition of copyright makes it all a double-whammy. Trademarks can already last as long as time itself; copyright doesn't also have to be that way at all.

14+14=28 years is a Really Long Time to exclusively control a work. Would films like 1997's Donny Brasco and Jackie Brown really have never been made, do you suppose, if the creators knew that by the end of 2025 anyone would be able to copy them freely? I remember 1997 very well, and at that time 2025 seemed like something in the impossibly-distant future -- a lot like 2053 does today.

(Also: Thanks for the reminder. I've independently invented a small (but non-zero) number of physical things that I've subsequently found to be patented. It's annoying when that happens, but I manage. I think one of those is timing out soon and I really should check on it.)

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#267

Post by snohobro »

eudamoniac wrote: post #228

I genuinely don't understand the instinct of HN to decry copyright for fictional works in general. I would not find it distasteful for even a far longer copyright to exist. I just don't see it as a problem. What is the societal ill that is caused by being unable to sell Harry Potter fan fiction, ever? Why can the author not invent his own setting? I understand people want free things, but this sentiment seems to go b…

My issue isn’t so much derivative works, but the original content being sat upon by the owner and refusing to make it available to the public (for free or for sale) in any meaningful way. Keeping with the theme of Disney, I always enjoyed the Captain Eo attraction. I’d love to be able to regularly rewatch that short film. Other than a bootleg YouTube version, there is no way for me to access it right now, and there is a very real risk that Disney copyright strikes that. I just have to hope that someday Disney makes a high quality version available to me or adds it back into the park. If it were copyright free though, I might have a chance at seeing it. Now just because it’s copyright free doesn’t mean it magically appears in front of me, but it does open the door to anyone who has a high quality version squirreled away somewhere to make it available to me for sale or for free, and TWDC would be unable to stop that from happening.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#268

Post by RyanOD »

jakubmazanec wrote: post #109

Swallows and Amazons is on the list? My favorite book; when I was a kid I read Czech translation published in 1930s, so I shouldn't be that surprised it's entering public domain.

Read this to my daughters. What a great story! Wish I had known of it as a kid.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#269

Post by bilbo0s »

zelphirkalt wrote: post #244
dismantlethesun wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Corporations have hijacked a concept that should exist on human timescales. I feel like this is true, but anytime I speak with colleagues in the arts (even UX and visual designers), they all say they are happy with copyright being lifetime of the owner + XX years. They (a) want the income for their legacy in case their products are still in use or appreciated decades later and (b) they want to control the output of…

Sounds a bit unlikely, that most of them will make a living with stuff older than 14 or 28 years, their legacy creations. Sounds more like they are chasing a dream, which most likely will not be achieved by most of them.

Mmmm..

I don’t know man?

I actually don’t mind 14+14 for corps. Because corps could conceivably never “die”. (In fact, I wouldn’t even be too opposed to getting rid of the +14 part).

But for individual people who make things, I think if they’re alive, it should be theirs. And I’m a guy who’s not a creative.

I just think if you come up with a painting, or story, or video game, why should a big corporate be able to swoop in and just copy it while you’re alive without paying you?

The copyright should lapse after a reasonable amount of time following your death. But while you’re alive, what you made should be yours.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#270

Post by shagie »

gwbas1c wrote: post #262
ssl-3 wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's work through this statutory licensing concept. A work is published. Sometime later, the entity that created it falls off the face of the earth. The work is thus very much abandoned, and it remains copyrighted anyway. But tomorrow, that work will enter the timeframe where anyone can pay to license and publish it however they wish. And it just so happens that you wish to license this work and publish it as an ebo…

That's a good question. IMO: 1: The formula dictates what you pay. 2: The money goes into a government-controlled escrow account. At that point, the rights holder has a reasonable amount of time (years) to claim the money. Otherwise, if the rightsholder doesn't come forward, the money is forfeited. (What happens to the money at that point? I think this is a great thing for people to argue about while the rest of us g…

Which government? Who controls the account?

How do I claim it?

How does this work across national boundaries? (e.g. how does someone in Wakanda license a work created by someone in the US? How does someone in the US license a work created by someone in Wakanda?)

What happens if the government refuses to pay me (or return the money to me after the period of time has elapsed)?

What happens if the government refuses to acknowledge the escrow and uses the money themselves?

---

I would contend that this suggestion puts too much faith in governments and their handling of money, record keeping, and not using financial tools to penalize individuals and countries.

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