A Few Things About Copyright

The presentation on copyright has been my favorite guest speaker so far. I thought it was interesting and very helpful. I learned that the public domain is a set of materials that can be used without requesting copyright permission, so they are publicly available. Also, I’m glad Mrs. Graves verified that even if the creator or author is dead or the work is out of print, the work can still be under protection. She cleared a lot of myths like that up, and I’m glad she did because copyright is rather confusing sometimes. I learned that copyright for U.S. published works is now the author’s life + 70 years (for single authors) or the date of publication + 95 years (for corporate entities like Disney).

One interesting fact I learned was about the Mickey Mouse Protection Act that was passed in 1998. It extended the term of copyright an additional 20 years. Disney did this because Steamboat Willie was about to lose its copyright. There is tension about what will happen in 2018 when the copyright of Steamboat Willie will run out. People think that Disney will most likely try to extend the copyright again. This is because they can still make money off of it. On the other side of the argument, extending copyright as a whole would be harmful because, especially in an academic libraries, authors or publishers cannot be located, and, besides, a piece rarely lives for more than ten years. What’s my stand on it? I, along with Mrs. Graves and many others, believe that it would be most wise of Disney to extend the copyright for Steamboat Willie, but they should try to apply for an extension only for themselves. Likewise, if any work is still useful to the owners for more than ninety five years, they can individually apply for an extension. Above is a picture of Steamboat Willie, which is still copyrighted by Disney.

Some more facts about copyright include the term “Orphan works” referring to publications that we can’t find or don’t know the author or publisher or any copyright holder. An interesting fact Mrs. Graves told us is that in Canada, if you can prove that something is an orphan work, it will be put into the public domain.

Just to relate this to our experiences at Trinity, about 4% of all file sharing is on campuses; therefore, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), and ESA (Entertainment Software Association) are disproportionately interested in campus-based file sharing. Trinity has to give out names if a subpoena is given. An individual can be sued 13,000-17,000$ for the case! One reason why these organizations are so worried about digital copyright infringement is because digital copies don’t deteriorate. It is important to know that Trinity will not provide for defense in court. So, just don’t do it Trinity students!Just buy the songs, go on YouTube, or listen to friends' CDs.