What do books and disco have in common? Attorney Lloyd Jassin has some thoughts:
Hailed as a landmark copyright decision by some, the recent Village People decision is a big victory for the original “Y.M.C.A.” disco songwriter, Victor Willis, but its real significance for the book community is that it is the first case to consider a 1976 amendment to the Copyright Act, which allows authors to terminate copyright grants 35 years after they were made. It is also a harbinger of greater volatility for the publishing industry in 2013 and beyond.
Before the dawn of ebooks, the idea of recovering a copyright would only be of value in a very few cases. Now, though, there's at least a potential for a much wider impact.
No comments:
Post a Comment