- How Mickey Mouse Evades the Public Domain
I knew that Mickey was a huge part of the reason for ongoing copyright extensions. What I didn't know was that Disney have no real *need* to push for them, since they've got him so heavily trademarked. They own him as long as they want to.
- What Could Have Entered the Public Domain on January 1, 2016?
This is saddening. Even among the famous works, there's a lot here that it would be a huge public good to have copyright-free, and I don't think anyone could argue that the original creators (or in most cases, their estates) haven't been fairly compenstated for these work.
Tag: publicdomain
Bookmarks for January 4, 2010
- A Form of Madness – Dive Into HTML5
HTML 5 forms. Oh, this is going to make interface design much nicer. In about four of five years, anyway.
- What Could Have Been Entering the Public Domain on January 1, 2010?
Thought it was worth pointing this one out, as there's bound to be another round of copyright extension lobbying fairly soon – when isn't there? Here's a list of what could have been public domain today, were it not for the 1976 extension. Can you find an argument for any of these works not being in the public domain now?
- Atheist Ireland Publishes 25 Blasphemous Quotes | blasphemy.ie
For all I make jokes about being a "good protestant boy", in the years since the Good Friday Agreement, I had more or less come to believe that a united Ireland was a good and desirable thing – the British have unquestionably fucked the place for centuries, and eventually the majority opinion in the North is going to be in favour of a united Ireland. That was until today, when I discovered that Ireland have enacted a law forbidding blasphemy. That's so fucking retrograde it's unreal, and genuinely makes me concerned about a united Ireland again. And if you need a demonstration of why it's stupid, well, take a look here.