javasaurus (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
javasaurus) wrote2003-07-23 12:58 pm
javasaurus) wrote2003-07-23 12:58 pm
Intellectual Property
For the most part this term applies to anything that you can copyright or patent. Such things are allowed for (though not required by) the Constitution (Article I, section 8), with the intent of encouraging progress and art by allowing those of creative spirit to profit from their efforts. I wholehearted agree with this idea.
One complaint regarding intellectual property involves prescription medicines. A drug company, after patenting a new drug substance, has 17 years to turn a profit before the generics are sold. A long time? Not really, once you realize that the first eight to ten years of that period will be spent testing the drug for safety and getting it approved for human use by the FDA. The testing is not cheap, and only about 1% of drug substances patented actually make it to market. The drug companies then have only a few years to reap a profit from their testing and research with which to fund future work. Without the few years of monopoly, the research drug companies would quickly cease, as would production of new drugs.
How many professional artists (writers, painters, music composers, etc.) would be able to continue in their profession if they didn’t get paid? Without copyright laws, a low-budget press could mass produce a novel and pocket the profit, the writer getting nothing for their untold hours of effort (a professional writer working full time on a average novel might complete it in about 3 to 4 months). In fact, without copyright laws, the publisher could make unapproved changes to the text, possibly alter the intent of the author, or even leave the author’s name off completely, so the author wouldn’t even get credit. That would leave little incentive for authors to even pick up their pens.
What it really comes down to, is that creators and publishers and consumers enter into contracts of purchase. When you buy a book or sound recording, you are bound by the copyright on it, which means that you cannot reproduce it (except in “fair use” circumstances, which generally exclude excuses like “it is too expensive to buy”). If you don’t like the limitations on the purchase, don’t buy the product. Computer software has gone further by adding another layer to copyright – the user license agreement, which is a more specific contract about what you can and cannot do with the software. Again, if you don’t like the contract, don’t buy the product. I guess copyright law is effectively a Congress-imposed end-user license agreement. Without it, we’d all be forced to sign contracts of intent every time we bought a book.
MP3 music files being swapped over the net: I’ve heard excuses like “the musicians actually benefit from swapping and the exposure it brings” or “they have so much money that it can’t hurt them – the music companies are being petty power giants” and others. However, it’s not about whether the musicians benefit, or whether the companies get money. It’s about the artist maintaining control of their work. If they want to let their songs get swapped, that’s fine. If they don’t like swapping, they should have the choice.
One complaint regarding intellectual property involves prescription medicines. A drug company, after patenting a new drug substance, has 17 years to turn a profit before the generics are sold. A long time? Not really, once you realize that the first eight to ten years of that period will be spent testing the drug for safety and getting it approved for human use by the FDA. The testing is not cheap, and only about 1% of drug substances patented actually make it to market. The drug companies then have only a few years to reap a profit from their testing and research with which to fund future work. Without the few years of monopoly, the research drug companies would quickly cease, as would production of new drugs.
How many professional artists (writers, painters, music composers, etc.) would be able to continue in their profession if they didn’t get paid? Without copyright laws, a low-budget press could mass produce a novel and pocket the profit, the writer getting nothing for their untold hours of effort (a professional writer working full time on a average novel might complete it in about 3 to 4 months). In fact, without copyright laws, the publisher could make unapproved changes to the text, possibly alter the intent of the author, or even leave the author’s name off completely, so the author wouldn’t even get credit. That would leave little incentive for authors to even pick up their pens.
What it really comes down to, is that creators and publishers and consumers enter into contracts of purchase. When you buy a book or sound recording, you are bound by the copyright on it, which means that you cannot reproduce it (except in “fair use” circumstances, which generally exclude excuses like “it is too expensive to buy”). If you don’t like the limitations on the purchase, don’t buy the product. Computer software has gone further by adding another layer to copyright – the user license agreement, which is a more specific contract about what you can and cannot do with the software. Again, if you don’t like the contract, don’t buy the product. I guess copyright law is effectively a Congress-imposed end-user license agreement. Without it, we’d all be forced to sign contracts of intent every time we bought a book.
MP3 music files being swapped over the net: I’ve heard excuses like “the musicians actually benefit from swapping and the exposure it brings” or “they have so much money that it can’t hurt them – the music companies are being petty power giants” and others. However, it’s not about whether the musicians benefit, or whether the companies get money. It’s about the artist maintaining control of their work. If they want to let their songs get swapped, that’s fine. If they don’t like swapping, they should have the choice.
Re: Hmmm...
Regarding the recording of public domain music, this is actually something long established by the classical music part of the industry, setting precedents the folk world have had to accept. Yes, either the first or the "most famous" (by whose judgement) version of a piece is the one for which most arrangements will be considered based on. It doesn't matter that I may not have heard so-n-so's version; ASCAP will assert that I have and that I'm lying when I say otherwise. ASCAP will win. Their lawyers are too good for my budget. Pony up the cash and don't worry about it.
However, "permission" is not required. As with right of first record, anybody can record something in the public domain. If an artists' publishing company asserts that its a cloned arrangement, they can sue to collect some (small) royalties, but nothing can stop you from making the record in the first place.
Its really more of an issue with songs than with tunes; tunes are usually too small to appear in the ASCAP radar until it comes to something like enforcing a performance space's broadcast license. For example, when Michigan's faire was trying to avoid the ASCAP tax by telling its performers to not play ASCAP protected material, Minstrocity would be restricted from playing Playfords recorded by Bare Necessities. Its not ASCAP leaning on Minstrocity, its ASCAP using both Minstrocity and Bare Necessities' material to lean on the faire management. ASCAP won't make Minstrocity pay BN because its too small to appear on their radar; its not worth the legal fight. Its only a tool to extract the real cash from the site itself. THAT's why ASCAP is an extortion racket.
The line is drawn by ASCAP; they really don't care if one album uses public domain material performed on some other artists' record regardless of the similarities in arrangements; the money they could grab from that is not worth the accounting hassle. They DO care when it comes to the larger moneys collected from sitewide licenses.
Final issue: performance rights. Performance rights are paid by the venue, not by the artist. The Bob's original album release that included Light My Fire required them to pay the Morrison estate and Doors publishers at a minimum; if they chose to credit PDQ Bach, then they paid Shikele's publishers as well. They don't have to pay them again when it comes to public performance. The venue itself already has a licence with ASCAP and BMI (and likely SECAN as well), which allows the venue to "perform" anything and everything without restriction. That's the money that goes into the "general fund" I discussed in another comment here.
MDRF pays the licenses, which is calculated based on attendence predictions and number of performers and stages (and each street section is a "stage" in those terms). Proportionally speaking, Carolyn quite possibly could be paying ASCAP more to have Cat&Fiddle than she pays us directly. Its just part of the overhead, just like an employee in a software company has overhead in the form of benefits, office space, computers, etc.