Licensing, Copyright and Compensation
[by Judy Herrmann]
Copyright exists to serve the public good by granting a limited monopoly to creators that provides them with the financial incentive and support necessary to keep creating. It seems to me, though, that the main people benefitting from current copyright laws are corporate rights holders, not independent creators. What the big guys can’t take from us legislatively, they demand contractually through copyright transfers and WMFH agreements. Ironically, as copyright terms have expanded, the true purpose of copyright – making sure independent creators can continue creating – has gotten lost.
The Sonny Bono Copyright Act of 1998, extended copyright to the author’s lifetime plus 70 years. Corporately owned copyrights now last 95 years after publication or 120 years, whichever is less. Assuming I achieve the average life expectancy of 78.5 years, my daughter will be 106 when my copyrights expire. No wonder the public is outraged.
We need to look at copyright and licensing in a new way. Instead of helping Disney maintain ownership of Mickey Mouse, we need to get back to the original purpose.
From the response to my last post about making transactions fast, easy and convenient, it seems that many of us see only two options: hold onto a restrictive per-use license model or give it all away for too little money. We have to be more flexible and creative in our thinking.
Since I entered this business 23 years ago, I’ve seen our profession try to “just say no” to change time and again. It has never worked. Not once.
We have to embrace new tools like the machine-readable license codes, list format license structure and new license registry offered by PLUS. If you’re not familiar with these tools, you can learn more about them in the ASMP/CCC webinars, How to Write (and Read) Licenses and License Tracking: Systems & Technologies. As new tools and platforms become available, we need to embrace those, too.
We need to educate ourselves about licensing and copyright so we understand which battles are worth fighting and when it’s best to compromise. If you haven’t attended the webinars in The Future of Art & Commerce series, you owe it to yourself to listen to the recordings and register for (re)Imagining the Future, which may just be the most important one of all.
Above all, we must keep what’s truly important – ensuring that creators have the financial means and incentive to keep creating – in the forefront of our decision-making as individuals and our advocacy efforts as a group.
Judy Herrmann has spent much of the past 12 years discussing, debating and thinking about copyright and licensing. These opinions are hers and do not necessarily reflect those of the ASMP board or staff.
2 Responses to 'Licensing, Copyright and Compensation'
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Hi Judy,
I would like to expand on “the true purpose of copyright – making sure independent creators can continue creating” to include the eventual enrichment of the public domain. A true win-win scenario”
Excellent point, Addison – our founding fathers would agree!