Live data from Hacker News

What will enter the public domain in 2026?

publicdomainreview.org

321–330 of 383 posts

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#321
post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If I would need to choose only between UBI and high taxes on the rich I would choose the latter There no need to be exclusive, and actually having concentration of wealth in a few hands is already a social construct. A society can also thrive without high income disparities. Taxing the rich is just taxing on what was captured from the non-rich.

It is about the practicality of convincing people to do something. Many people I know are inert and would say no to change. Even those that want change have a favorite topic. So, personally, when discussing economic topics I discuss the taxes part, which is so clearly unjust when explained (most countries tax less capital gains than work, which results in rich people able to accumulate things faster). Additionally, I…

> Additionally, I am not convinced that me or you know exactly what will work

Sure. It doesn't mean anyone else know better from some absolute perspective that we should blindly trust.

>proposing too many changes at once might result in an undesired result. There are enough examples in history where good intentions led to catastrophes.

Not proposing any change, letting the same egocentric people with selfish intentions always have the last word on what should change or not, also proved to be a sure source of great human catastrophic outcomes.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#322

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…

A reasonable copyright term makes abandonware not a thing If copyright is hard stopped after 14 (or even 28) years, it doesn't matter whether the initial rightsholder dies or hates the world or refuses to do the legwork to make it accessible, they cannot stop anyone from distributing it anymore full stop. Abandonware is only a thing because of copyright. >A copyright holder shouldn't have exclusive control over which…

I was about to respond to your comment yesterday about closed protocols but this is a better article!

> A copyright holder shouldn't have exclusive control over which media and stores sell their work. > This is the entire point of copyright.

Not only is the entire point, it is the thing that matters most when discussing "piracy" productively. Putting aside "you wouldn't download a car" jokes side, infringement on that exclusive right is only possible by distributing the media. "Consuming" intellectual property can never be piracy by definition because you are not providing anything.

If Netflix screws up their licensing agreements and provides too many seasons of a show and people watch it no one would be considered "pirates". Netflix is simply in violation of a licensing agreement. If they had no agreement whatsoever then they are directly infringing on the "IP holders exclusive right to control the distribution and sale".

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t blame Disney for having a copyright or for trying to protect it at some level. Again, we want creators to be compensated. But where does it end with Mickey? Does he ever become public domain?

Well his origin "Steam Boat Willie" became public domain last year.

The film is in the public domain and the original versions of Mickey and Minnie are public domain. But that does NOT apply to the later versions of Mickey that you'd find Disney pushing today (e.g., at parks, on apparel, etc.). Further, Disney has been trying to continue to assert copyright even over the original version of the character. See here for more info: https://www.cullenllp.com/blog/steamboat-willie-in-the-publi...

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#324
Entering PD at death+70y usually means a 100+-20y duration. Does anyone respect this silly timescale? Does any fine been imposed for a forgotten old work?

Compare that with a drug's IP: total of 20 years after the molecule patent, of which 8-10y in clinical trials and only 10-12y in profitable life. But everyone respects that until the last day and it brings billions back.

A short IP time would favor the small/poor creators that could earn something during their lifetime when the work is fresh, while a long one favors companies like Disney which can protect the copyright with their group of lawyers.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#325
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty sad that even a well intentioned non profit thinks it has to resort to "engagement" shenanigans.

[flagged]

Do they? Do they really think I'm going to come back each day to see what the new reveal is, and on the 17th day I'm going to decide "Oh, hey, maybe I should send them some money"?

No. No, I'm not. I'm gone and I'm not coming back. Ain't nobody got time for games like this.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#326
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love the original 14+14. I’ve heard proposals for exponentially growing fees to allow truly big enterprises to stay copywritten longer, like 14+14 with filing and $100, another 14 for $100,000, another 14 for $10M, another 14 for $100M. That would allow 70 years or protection for a few key pieces of IP that are worth it, which seems like an okay trade off? So many ideas better than the current regime.

I think would diminish independent author rights. Quite often, a novel will become popular only decades after publishing, and I think the author should be able to profit on the fruits of their labour without wealthy corporations tarnishing their original IP, or creating TV shows and the link with no reperations to the creator. Fantasy book are a good example. A Games of Thrones was first released in 1996 but had midd…

14+14 seems to cover these two scenarios? Lifetime+whatever is far too on the other end of this seesaw.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well his origin "Steam Boat Willie" became public domain last year.

The film is in the public domain and the original versions of Mickey and Minnie are public domain. But that does NOT apply to the later versions of Mickey that you'd find Disney pushing today (e.g., at parks, on apparel, etc.). Further, Disney has been trying to continue to assert copyright even over the original version of the character. See here for more info: https://www.cullenllp.com/blog/steamboat-willie-in-the-…

The irony of sticking your finger in the dyke with a racial slur long forgotten.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#328
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting that he still has an estate. And thanks for explaining what it means

In practice, there was not a Hitler estate - the government of Bavaria (a state in Germany) took ownership of the copyright.

...did they exercise it?

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#329
post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 their intellect. Copyright is a practical compromise between society and them; their interests are not absolute.

> their interests are not absolute The question of interests is a cultural debate, and also not an absolute either direction. In one culture the interests of the author could be held as an absolute; in another culture the exact opposite could be held as the value: no copyrights at all. That's up to the society to debate. We see considerable cultural variance across the globe on the matter.

> The question of interests is a cultural debate

Not at all, that question has quite real and far reaching economic and political consequences, it's not about endless debating, it's about proper and timely deciding, precisely in the framework of economics and politics within the Constitution.

Re: What will enter the public domain in 2026?

#330
post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 i…

As a photographer, why should I be forced to sell prints of the photographs that are hanging in a restaurant? If the limitations on copyright weren't present, why wouldn't the restaurant make copies of the photograph that I took that they have hanging on the wall and sell it at the front door without reimbursing me in any way?

I don’t think copyright shouldn’t exist at all, I think the general consensus in this topic has been that the length of copyright protection is longer than is considered reasonable.

You don’t have to sell the prints if you don’t want to. But if someone else does fulfill that market demand by selling or giving away your photographs after those photographs have entered into public domain, that’s a win for all those who wished to enjoy your art. Without having to visit that particular restaurant. The length of time to get to public domain is the issue at hand.

I want you to make money on your photography. It’s a good incentive to keep doing that scope of work and more art in the world is a win for humanity. But if you haven’t been able to recuperate losses and make profit on a particular photo after 70 years, I don’t think it’s going to happen for ya.

Post reply on HN