Re: Reclassification - Wordperfect

["Paul Grammens" <grammens@svn.net>]

ground.ecn AppleII Librarian <apple2pd@garp3.icaen.uiowa.edu> wrote
>
> Reasonable to me is:  Unconditional copyright for software, etc. for 5
> years, renewable for 2 year increments by registration (mail-in postcard
> form?) up to the maximum copyright term (Life + 70 years).  Details may
> vary, but the point should be to make copyright a active process in which
> the creator/holder has to indicate interest in the works, or they pass
> into public domain.  Authors and their heirs could still protect their
> interests, publishers and artists could protect their works, etc. for as
> long a period as they wish.  Once interest is lost, the public has
> access.
>
> This would work as well as, and hopefully better than, current copyright
> laws, as the copyright holders remain identifiable and protected, and the
> status of 'lost' works is established, ie. public domain.
>

This seems very reasonable, but it's unlikely to happen.  Face it, this
isn't going to be a burning issue for congress, and your senator is unlikely
to be deluged with calls from constituents demanding action.  The problem is
not going to be opposition, the only people who give a rip about the
copyright status of abandonware are a handful of cranks. So we're stuck with
the status quo.
As you pointed out, there are issues of much greater gravity. In fact, it
would be hard to find an issue of lesser gravity...
-Paul