[LINK] Copyright question

[Auer, Karl James]

> jan wrote
> 'Anyone try to negotiate a shared copyright condition in a contract
> lately?  It ain't easy, even if you are the one who developed 
> the material in the first place.  Even the ABC is requiring a full
> release.'

Funny how simple the answer is, but like all simple answers, it's hard to implement. It's this: Creators of works don't sell or give away their copyright except on their terms.

Publishers need content; they are even prepared to pay for it. But that they then own that content, exclusively and in perpetuity, is a condition that no content creator has to accept. Far better is a limited reproduction right, renegotiable at agreed intervals and preferably non-exclusive.

Regards, K.

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Karl Auer (karl.auer@id.ethz.ch)             Geschaeft/work +41-1-6327531
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