Jon Noring wrote:
Steve wrote:
Your proposal is very fascinating and your tact is remarkable. =)
Well, my reply may have been a little too harsh. Ray did bring up valid points that needed addressing. The whole area of the copyright of pre-1972 U.S. sound recordings is one big tangled can of worms. So it is difficult to write something brief which completely untangles everything to everyone's satisfaction. I'm not sure if anyone, outside of a few top IP attorneys who are interested in the Public Domain, such as Larry Lessig, really have a good grasp of the various nuances (including state laws) regarding pre-1972 sound recordings.
I've just read through the decision on "Capitol vs. Naxos". I find the reading tortuous, but I think I understand what they are getting at. Depending on State common law implies that a different result could be had with a judicious choice of state. The bulk of thes cases invoking common law appear to be a part of the original 13. It would be particularly interesting to see how this plays in Louisiana which did not have a background of English common law. The legislation in response to "La Cienaga vs. ZZ Top" would have the effect of restoring common law protection, but it's unclear what would happen when the state had no applicable provisions.
So if the person with access to $100 million is interested in the pre-1942 sound recordings, we have a team of experts with good connections in various places that can be leveraged to help out with the acquisition, cataloging, digitization, archiving and distribution of the collection.
From a Wikimedia perspective sound recordings are still only a small part of the material that needs to be freed. Any portion of the $100 million applied to these recordings should be in proportion to the overall distribution of Wikimedian interests. While it is clear that our organizations have a common interest in freeing material from copyright, I would question the appropriateness of turning over any significant portion of these funds to another organization for the furtherance of its objetives.
Ec