I wouldn't say MOST relaxed, there are a few African countries that
take that prize, but we're good for several reasons:
- physical proxmity to the US provides logistical and $ savings for
volunteers;
- part of the Anglo-American law world; we can, for now, stand as a
bulwark against the extensionists, and the presence of such a library,
will, if large enough, allow for the mobilization of a defence of the
public domain;
- English- and French-speaking; can make liaisons and bridges with the
longer-life-plus-term UK and Ireland as well as the wierd-term US
(there are thousands of PD books under the pre-1923 rule in the US that
are NOT PD in life+ countries, including Canada;
- large immigrant communities, and "heritage language" communities,
among whose numbers we can recruit to help give the collection more
internationality;
- excellent net.infrastructure, esp. as compared to those countries
with even less copyright;
- several PD and digital library initiatives already in progress;
- some potential corporate contributors;
- already a strong base of PG/DP support, with one of the largest non-
US contingents already involved. We can build a life+/CanCon version,
and hopefully, by growing incrementally as PGDP I has, do so without
destabilizing the Mothership.
DRAWBACK:
- Collective copyright administration; the literary, artistic and
musical collective agencies will watch us like hawks. Scratch that;
VULTURES. Which is why we have to have a failsafe clearance mechanism.
I've got as good a knowledge of Canadian CR law, esp. as pertains to
the undefined, in Canadian law, expression "public domain", as any non-
lawyer does, and I've volunteered to help with the clearances.
So, I repeat the call: Where are the tech people who can make this
happen, and sooner rather than later? I'd start processing titles from
Project Gutenberg Mothership according to their Life+50 eligibility as
soon as the site is in place.
We need a friendly host.
----- Original Message -----
>From Jonathan Ingram <jonathan_ingram(a)yahoo.com>
Date Thu, 6 Jan 2005 09:55:52 -0800 (PST)
To Project Gutenberg Volunteer Discussion <gutvol-d(a)lists.pglaf.org>
Subject Re: [gutvol-d] PG-50/70?
We need a centralised PGUS-style storage
system for life+X books that can be easily mirrored in other life+X
countries,
and that should preferably be based in the country with the most
relaxed laws
-- Canada.
--
Jon Ingram