
I think that we have to revise the aim and implementation of copyright. Copyright has useful features (allowing writer to make a living) and bad features (its implementation being giving a long-term monopoly to publishers, all the disadvantages of monopoly appear). A short-term monopoly might be reasonable, to allow the initial publisher to recover the investment, but a long one is bad. I think that the solution is decoupling monopoly and author royalties. There is nothing that disallows a double system: for a short period (14+14?) the author has a monopoly that he can transfer to a publisher, negotiating his conditions; after that, there is no monopoly, everybody can republish, but should give to the author a fair share of the sale price of the published work. This might be state-guaranteed, through author's registration, that might be handled by an international authority (I am thinking at UNESCO) to avoid overriding by national law differences. There is the possibility that an author will earn less, though reduced prices, but might get better compensation through increased sales and better diffusion. This royalty right might as well be life+N, maybe even life+100; but the royalty collection right should be non-tranferrable, it should go to natural heirs only or (as a limit case) to a literary foundation, not transferred to a publisher. I think that such a proposal might be favorably accepted, since it does not reduce author's rights, only monopoly power (words have to be carefully chosen...) I think that such a proposal, beyond technicalities, should be acceptable to everybody (except monopolists, of course), and could gather a concensus with good slogans (down with monopolies!) This is the scheme that was designed by Victor Hugo, and not accepted. He was considering limited control and perpetual royalties, to be given to natural heirs or, if they do not exist, to a state foundation to encourage beginner authors. I have started translating from french to english his proposal: it would be useful to have a revision proposal of copyright based on the proposal of a "Noble Father". Carlo Traverso