Date:         Tue, 16 May 2006 14:26:36 -0400
Reply-To:     Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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Sender:       Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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From:         steven c <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      Re: Letter on British Copyright Term Extension
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Karl Miller" <[log in to unmask]>
> On Tue, 16 May 2006, Marcos Sueiro wrote:
>
> > What libraries (and those on our side of the copyright issue) need is
their
> > own counterpart to Cliff Richard: a famous musician willing to speak out
> > against these laws. Not unlike that group of Canadian musicians
mentioned
> > here not long ago.
>
> How would we like our copyrights to read?
>
Well, I would like to see a "Use it or lose it" system; that is, the
issuing company can only hold copyright to recordings that they make
readily available to the public. Thus, as soon as a recording is
dropped from a record firm's current catalog (probably with an
interval to allow them to clear out inventory?) it falls into the
Public Domain.

Existing copyright law (and those which are or will be amended
to satisfy the gree...er, wishes...of the record industry) now
allow the industry to play "Dog In the Manger"...that is, to say
"we won't reissue it, because it won't make us enough money...
but you CAN'T reissue it, because it is ours!"

The fact that record companies usually dump their "old" product
as cut-outs to third-party firms demonstrates what they think
its value might be...

...stevenc
http://users.interlinks.net/stevenc/