CattyNebulart Wrote:I have a lot of issues with your post, but lets break it down bit by bit.1) It is perfectly legal to make derivative work for profit if you attain the rights to do so. If you don't, I believe you should be able to do it for free (though I understand the legal difficulties in making that law, as opposed to now where certain derivative works are legal and others are not). If you don't want to do either, then too bad.
1) right to make a derivative work.
Why does Artist A have a right to Artist B work if Artists B work was based on it? That is the most natural way for humans to make stories, as an example I'll cite the Arthurian legends and fanfiction.net. The restriction on derivative works is a big problem for the way art has been practiced for most of human history. This is one of my main sticking point with current copyright law.
2) Why should the artist be granted a non economicaly optimal copyright length?
Copyright terms are set by public policy, What criteria would you use aside from being economicaly optimal (ie the benefit to the entire soceity is maximized) for public policy and why? Is it restricted to just copyright terms
3) why only for creative works?
Why do scientists not get paid for their discoveries until well after their death. few people have done as much for the human race as Newton or Pastuer, and yet they don't get a ton of money for their discoveries. Why is it that if Bill gates sells his share in Microsoft his children won't get a share of the profits? It is afterall his lifes work so by your logic they are entiteled to a share.
4) Having works based on the lifetime of the author is unfair.
Someone old and or sick would be at a disadvantage over someone young and healthy because the copyright term would be expected to be much longer for the young person. The shorter the time after death copyright lasts the more pronounced the effect is. But how is that good public policy? What is wrong with a fixed term?
5) Why only their children?
Why not the great grandchildren, for 7 generations? why just children, and what if the artist doesn't have children. Why does the lifetime of the children not matter? What did the children do to deserve to leach of the work of their parent until long after they are dead?
6) why only life + 25 years?
Why 25 and not 20? or 30? or 5? or 500?
2) Because they deserve it. The benefit to the artist outweighs the purported benefit to society. Incidentally, there is no hard scientific data about the subject so you could kindly stop pretending this is somehow proven rather than economic theorising based on different situations in different countries at different time periods, where you have cherry-picked an opinion that you conveniently happen to agree with. After the last five years, we all should be well aware of the fact that there is no such thing a proven economic theory, especially about something as esoteric as the overall benefit to society of copyright laws of differing lengths.
3) It isn't only for creative works and it is flatly dishonest to suggest it is. For one thing, patents are essentially copyright for inventions. And if Bill Gates does NOT sell his stock (which is analogous to releasing work in the public domain), shockingly, his children do get a share. Indeed, his preferred heirs (and theirs) could theoretically profit from his work forever, which is far more than copyright can do under either current laws or the ones I've suggested.
4) It's unfair to deny an artist the opportunity to help his heirs through life from his work. I'd be fine with a fixed term of something like 100 years, however.
5) Because you have a direct connection to your children (or any other heir) that you do not for your descendants seven generations down. It is not exactly a new or revolutionary legal concept for children and other direct relatives to have legal rights that distant relatives do not.
6) Because it seems a reasonable number, ensuring that even if the artist dies while their heir is in infancy, they will be able to profit from the artist's work until they have reached full adulthood.