I was surprised to read this important story here....this is very relevant to some important trends going on in the world of IP rights...(I too have not verified this particular story, but I can tell you this discussion over abandoned works is very much a hotly debated issue these days)
First, understand that abandoned works, are just that...stuff that is totally forgotten about and has no commercial value at all. This has nothing whatsoever to do with taking money from an author of a work...if it has ANY value of ANY kind, then this isn't what is being discussed....if it has any interest, value, sentimental or otherwise, if anyone remembers it and makes a claim on it...this is NOT what is being discussed.
Sorry, just had to make that clear, because already the comments about 'disrespect'...far from being disrespected, people who want to make available old works...are the opposite, not disrespecting it, but bringing them back to be of benefit to society, and not to be shown the disrespect of being totally forgotten.
Here is the basic idea, that historically speaking there was a balance between the interest of society and the interest of an author of a work. And that an author was granted a monopoly interest on their own works, and allowed to profit from that. The theory being, that it would benefit society to have this monetary incentive to create works (a very sound theory indeed).
Remember, unless you are anti-social...benefitting society is generally the idea of any legislation or law....anyway...but it would also benefit society, eventually to let those works pass into the public domain.
You see, what happens now...is generations of works are lost forever...'protected' they are...but for whom, and why? The original idea of protection...to grant a monopoly to the author...can't be the reason because we are talking about works the author has completely abandoned (not to be morbid, but may even be dead)...
so...if there is no reason to do it...why are we doing it?
anyway, I'm rambling...just a quick response.
good story...did someone verify it?
