Comments on: News Briefs

By: michael

michael — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:00:00 +0000

MoCCA is awesome, as are those Colbert clips (Quesada and Marjane), thanks Heidi! ;)

By: bad wolf

bad wolf — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:38:23 +0000

Thanks for that link! Very informative. Sadly, the idea of public domain seems to be almost lost. 95 years? 120 years? Might as well just put “long after you’re dead” under all headings.

By: Tommy Raiko

Tommy Raiko — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:31:37 +0000

Yeah, according to the handy cheat sheet maintained at http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/ , a work published in 1934 whose copyright was renewed wouldn’t be in the public domain for a while yet.

(As for HP Lovecraft, his material published before 1923 is public domain, but he published some material afterward that would still be copyright protected, I believe…)

By: Kevin Melrose

Kevin Melrose — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:02:59 +0000

“Which brings up my question–why isn’t this in the public domain already? REH died in 1936–over 70 years ago.”

“The Shadow of the Vulture” was published in January 1934, which I believe means that, as long as the registration was renewed in 1962, it should remain in copyright until 2029. I think.

By: bad wolf

bad wolf — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:30:19 +0000

Your birthright? The Howard material was sold long, long ago to a series of ‘investors’; none of REH’s heirs have been involved for generations, probably. And seriously, if they made money off the printing rights for all this time, and invested it, they would still have a ‘birthright’.

Which brings up my question–why isn’t this in the public domain already? REH died in 1936–over 70 years ago. Even HPL is now in public domain.

By: Ed Gauthier

Ed Gauthier — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:31:51 +0000

If Paradox bought all Howard material, they should therefore also own Howard’s character Sonya. As to Marvel’s “Sonja,” those guys should have been sued up and down the block for their blatant rip-off. But the bottom line is that the Howard estate never should have sold anything to Paradox or anyone else in the first place. Never sell out your birthright.