LOLSINGULARITYLolbrarians will always have a special place in my heart, but www.lolsingularity.info
I'm not sure it quite qualifies as
info, but then most things on the web aren't really companies :)
Teresa Nielsen Hayden on Packbat on Thomas Macaulay on Copyrighthttp://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009034.html#009034I am so used to the laws I live with I automatically start to think of them as natural. It's fascinating to reconsider why they are, and what actually serves that purpose.
1. The copyright is not an innate right, but a creation of human government.
2. A copyright is a form of monopoly, and therefore effectively a tax on the public—thus, it should be restricted to precisely as long a term as would make equivalent the harm done to the public by monopoly and the good provided by encouraging the creation of new works.
3. The prospect of income from a property a long time after one’s death is no incentive whatsoever to the creation of new works.
4. The probability that the persons for whom the author might have concern will own the copyright a long time after one’s death is minute.
5. The probability that the copyright owner might suppress the works, for whatever reason, is great.
For that matter, does restricting non-directly derivative works (eg. sequels, not adaptions) actually do anything?[1] I've always seen it as a polite nod to the author's feelings, "Oh my god, I don't want to see how badly someone can butcher my ideas".
[1] If someone else published books set on the discworld, clearly marked, would people buy them instead of PTerry's? Would they be stocked? OK, on reflection, they probably would, "it might be good enough". People bought bad covers of music, right?
From WTF, From amazon.com, Faberge EggFaberge Egg. List price $2,500,000, Price, $150. You save: 100%* In stock
* Seller's description: "THIS IS AN IMPRESSIVELY BEAUTIFUL FABERGE STYLE PENDANT WITH FROG IS MADE OF GREEN GUILLOCHE ENAMEL, STERLING SILVER WITH 22K GOLD OVERLAY AND AUSTRIAN CRYSTALS AND GENUINE GARNETS. IT WAS CRAFTED BY RUSSIAN JEWELERS THROUGH ELABORATE AND LABORIOUS EFFORTS."
* Review: While their eggs are indeed very beautiful, I can't believe a company like Amazon is participating in the wanton endangerment of a species this way. The collection and reselling of their eggs, is the single greatest threat to the Faberge as a species.
* Review: While the wrapper is artfully done, I was disappointed with the filling. I don't know if the one I got was a factory defect or not, but once I had removed the elaborate wrapper, I found it was empty, without even the smell of chocolate. After this, I'll stick with Cadbury eggs, but my experience may not be representative of the normal presentation. I've given the product 4 stars because of the wrapper, though, while difficult to tear off, it was certainly stunning.
* Review: Having been an admirer of Faberge eggs for quite some time, this price was something I could'nt turn down. I knew if I just waited I would be able to get a $2.5 Million dollar piece for under $200 eventually. The only thing that soured the deal was it didn't qualify for free shipping, hence only 4 stars.
* Note, other, similar products from the same seller cost ~$250. A typo is suspected.
* Note, percentage-off is rounded to the nearest (very very near, in fact) integer percentage. Amazon does not assert it is
exactly 100% off.
* Note, a faberge egg would have a cost in the $millions. However, it probably wouldn't be sold on amazon marketplace. For a 15%? commission, 375k, you could probably find better publicity than this got.