• Landrin201@lemmy.ml
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    2 years ago

    Corporations when some dude steals a copy of a 30 year old movie: 😡

    Corporations when they steal billions from their workers salaries every year: 🤑

    • argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
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      2 years ago

      Taking money for a 30-year-old movie is pretty much government-assisted stealing, if I’m honest. Copyright in the USA originally had a term of 14 years.

      • Marxism-Fennekinism@lemmy.ml
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        2 years ago

        Here’s the thing: copyright term includes the life of the author plus a fixed period. So the works you and I nobodies produce will eventually become public domain after we die. HOWEVER, and this is just my underatanding of the laws and I’m definitely not a lawyer, not big name IPs because they are not registered under the human author, but a corporation that is both a person under the law and effectively immortal. So even if it’s two thousand years after George Lucas dies, Star Wars will still be copyrighted as long as Disney exists, and even if Disney dies, part of the process of corporate “death” is liquidation where they sell their IPs to the next asshole corporation.

        Am I wrong? Please correct me if I am.

        • Count Regal Inkwell@pawb.social
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          2 years ago

          Afaik you are not correct. Copyrights for a corporation also have an expiration date.

          Except – The expiration date can be extended by just continuing to use the IP – Ever wondered why movies get remakes/reimaginings every 30 years or so? We meme about them being “Out of ideas”, but really it’s so they can hold down their copyright.

    • mayo@lemmy.today
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      2 years ago

      We also pay for their bailouts and subsidies. Piracy is ethical.