Actions of Joyce estate highlight problems with copyright law

According to an article in the Irish Times (http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2004/0209/2893527271HM3JOYCE.html, registration required) the Joyce estate has informed the Irish government that it intends to sue for copyright infringement if there are any public readings of Joyce's works during the festival commemorating the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday this June.

James Joyce died in 1941 and the copyright in his work expired in 1991. Then the EU extended terms to life+70 years, and the work went back into copyright in July 1995. The estate has been very active in enforcing their copyright, suing regularly. While some of their actions have been aimed at issues such as protecting the memory of Joyce's daughter Lucia from scrutiny, other suits have been against non-commercial uses of the works by fans. As such, they seem solely concerned with the financial health of the estate [admittedly one of their roles] having no concern for nurturing the greater cultural legacy of Joyce.

The Irish Times notes that "In 1998, the Joyce estate objected to readings of Ulysses live over the Internet, which was facilitated by Ireland.com. The case was settled out of court." Now the estate has issued a letter to the Irish government warning that all use must be cleared with the estate - which means that there can be no public reading during the festival, and a planned production of Joyce's Exiles by the Abbey theatre must be cancelled.

Public readings do not displace commercialised use of Joyce's work, so the estate does not lose income from their occurrence. Of course, the estate is technically within its 'rights' (though this does indicate reasons for reforming European copyright law) but such vigorous enforcement is unnecessary and distasteful.

(This information taken from a post in Funferal, http://funferal.org/mt-archive/000514.html, and mentioned in lessig blog, http://www.lessig.org/blog/)
~carla 60626

We've officially become the Bizarro world.

Thats out of control. Why did they get they're copyright back in the first place? What would James Joyce think of this if he was alive today? I'd be ashamed, or at very least spinning in my grave wildly.

Why don't we all download a bootleg copy of Ulysses together?

Makes me want to go to the library, check out some of Joyce's work, and read out loud down at Zilker Park for all to hear. Just for spite.

I guess we need a book of authorized fireplace reading material....

I think Homer (the Greek one, not the one who lives in Springfield) should sue for unauthorized use of the name "Ulysses".

I say, the hell with them! They can take it to the grave if it makes them happy!!! Just like musicians that don't like file sharing. You don't want to share, so be it, have fun staring at a cardboard box.

Arr!!

"Then the EU extended terms to life+70 years, and the work went back into copyright in July 1995. "

They're crazy!!!

Wow, James Joyce was actually a guy. And here I am thinking it was just the name of an Irish bar near my house. Probably has something to do with his estate "having no concern for nurturing the greater cultural legacy of Joyce."

A thought for you Matey's. Why is a Patent on something an Engineer designed only good for 20 years, but copyrights are good for life, or in this case life+70?!?!?

So... i thought that works fall PD and never come back...

"which means that there can be no public reading during the festival"

Sounds a lot like socialism in one form or another.

ih8RIAA, I'm not exactly sure about the circumstances of how it happened, but when copyright extensions came into play, if I'm not mistaken, a lot of things in the public domain went back into the hands of copyright holders or their descendants, and several things have not fallen into the public domain since then.

Not that I don't find the extension to be ridiculously long.

Let's look up estate in teh dictionary:

Estate (N.) - A bunch of spoiled rich kids who never have to work a day in their lives and will sell their own souls for a penny.

sigh, 7 + 7 and non transferable is what it SHOULD be folks.

Shmoo, of Electric Gypsy
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"So... i thought that works fall PD and never come back..."

In America.

"a lot of things in the public domain went back into the hands of copyright holders or their descendants,"

Not in America. If they had already fallen into the PD they stayed. However, works that would have fallen into the PD but for the extension, received the benefit of the extension.

Sick, just sick I tell ya.

I think it's now time to abolish all English Lit classes in all schools. Maybe the Soviets, Nazis and Klan had it right all along. Burn all the books. Lest we infringe on anyone's copyright.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many an idiotic volume of copyright lore,
While I listened, toes a tappin,
to some raunchy, bitchin rappin
Suddenly there came a tappin, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my computer door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping into my IP backdoor -
And for this, there's nothing more.'

Okay okay, it's not the best, but it's parody and it's POE.. so it's protected. I couldn't fit the whole damn thing here, but the point is..
James Joyce wrote some good stuff. Too bad I won't be reading any of it anymore, as I only do it for classes, and I'm not payin anymore money to those whores from his estate.
ttmmm

IANAL, thanks for the corrections raolduke. However, didn't everything after 1923 eventually go back into the hands of some type of copyright holder unless it was specifically put in the public domain?