I just got a copyright claim against a video I posted on youtube 10 years ago.
The video is a film by Georges Melies that was shot in the 1890s.
Someone is attempting to claim copyright over a film that is 130 years old, who's director died 86 years ago.
Now 1) I don't give a shit about this clip on youtube. 2) The person who made this claim is clearly in the wrong. 3) I can't be the only one that they have targeted illegally. 4) Youtube is a problem.
As an archivist, let me say clearly:
Modern copyright law is actively harmful to the preservation and study of our culture.
It harms artists by giving undue power to publishers. It harms artists by limiting remixes. It harms preservation and research efforts.
It's broken. It's bad. It should be massively reformed.
Of course the claimant backed down. How could they do otherwise?
But the fact remains that they should face legal repercussions for claiming ownership over something they don't own.
I should, at least, be able to bill them for the time I spent dealing with their spurious claim, but frankly the repercussions should be worse and deeper than that.
Issuing an illegal takedown notice should come with serious risk.
Small claims basics Small claims court allows you to sue a person, business, or government agency that you think owes you money. Generally, you can only sue for up to $12,500 in small claims court (or up to $6,250 if you’re a business). You can ask a lawyer for advice before you go to court, but you can't have one with you in court. Special rules for COVID-19 rental debt cases in small claims
@ajroach42 The concept of easy takedown requests for immunity from direct copyright suits was what made the modern internet possible. I think the DMCA and equivalents were a good idea in the nineties, but they need to be reformed badly to make spurious claims less frequent. Automatic screening and claiming made it too cheap and easy.
Copyright in general was bad already before that and has only gotten worse.
They weren't even a "good idea in the 90s".
@ajroach42 I mean, we don't really need copyright at all, you've already pointed out that it doesn't help anyone who actually needs the privilege
No copyright, no spurious copyright claims
@ajroach42 reformed? Abolished more like.
The only purpose of copyright as a legal concept is to turn activities previously labeled "plagiarism" into blameless lawful activities when carried out by a company.
"Work for hire" laws mean that anything you write is by default owned and copyrighted by your employer, and they pay you at most once for it. And as soon as a company asserts copyright of your work, they can remix/resell your work and use it to extract perpetual profit without giving anything back to you, not even attribution is required. It's inherently asymmetric because the whole purpose is extraction
I recommend Pirate Cinema (2012) a novel by Cory Doctorow, a near future dystopia about the evils of overreaching corporate copyright.
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@ajroach42 Just cause I've been looking at the US constitution recently for reasons, this is what the US copyright is constitutionally based on:
"To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;"
Really don't feel like our current laws and practices are really in line with that intent. If anything it prevents progress. Know I'm speaking to the choir, but grr.
@ajroach42 I am of the opinion that the copyright of works by an individual are fine - except for the term. They don't need to feed the creator's grandkids' grandkids.
Copyright of works by a corporation? Should be like patents - super short. 20 years at most.
Transfers of copyrights TO a corporation should immediately cause them to move to the corporation term.
How about "works by an individual - life of the individual + 20 years; works by a corporation - 20 years; works by an individual then assigned to a corporation - 20 years from date of assignment; or the remainder of the original individual copyright if assigned after the death of the creator."
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