"Part of the motivation for the Judge's decision, says Molly Van Houweling for the Authors Alliance, was a consideration of what the larger ramifications of extending the copyright on Holmes would have on art in general. Holmes' lasting popularity is a rarity among fictional characters—most fall out of favor within years, not decades. Creating a longer term on copyright for characters would reduce the number of works flowing into the public domain. This, in turn, would make it more difficult or more expensive for future artists to work, since a great deal of art draws on earlier works... Posner's opinion has much to commend, but one area it does not delve into is how the character of Sherlock Holmes—as we know him—is the construct of many authors, artists, and even film-makers. As Authors Alliance co-founder Molly Van Houweling points out, the phrase "elementary, my dear Watson," never appears in any of Doyle's works."
Issues and developments related to IP, AI, and OM, examined in the IP and tech ethics graduate courses I teach at the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information. My Bloomsbury book "Ethics, Information, and Technology", coming in Summer 2025, includes major chapters on IP, AI, OM, and other emerging technologies (IoT, drones, robots, autonomous vehicles, VR/AR). Kip Currier, PhD, JD
Showing posts with label Judge Richard Posner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judge Richard Posner. Show all posts
Monday, June 23, 2014
“Sherlock Holmes” Is Now Officially Off Copyright and Open for Business: What amazing Holmes fan fiction will you create?; Smithsonian, 6/19/14
Colin Schultz, Smithsonian; “Sherlock Holmes” Is Now Officially Off Copyright and Open for Business: What amazing Holmes fan fiction will you create? :
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Do patent and copyright law restrict competition and creativity excessively? Posner; Becker-Posner Blog, 9/30/12
Becker-Posner Blog; Do patent and copyright law restrict competition and creativity excessively? Posner:
"The most serious problem with copyright law is the length of copyright protection, which for most works is now from the creation of the work to 70 years after the author’s death. Apart from the fact that the present value of income received so far in the future is negligible, obtaining copyright licenses on very old works is
difficult because not only is the author in all likelihood dead, but his heirs
or other owners of the copyright may be difficult or even impossible to
identify or find. The copyright term should be shorter."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)