Comments on: above 7,500 signatures

By: Guillaume Proux

Guillaume Proux — Thu, 05 Jun 2003 01:47:34 +0000

First comment on your blog Professor, thank you for all you are doing for all the people all around the world (I am French leaving in Japan). I woke up this morning with this horrible thought: and if the Eldred Act was passed unanimously? If big copyrights zaibatsu started to use the existence of the Eldred Act as an excuse for their buying congress copyright extension every twenty years? "Hey, you got plenty of works in the public domain; it does not hurt to extend copyright terms, does it?". Is it a good calculation?
I don't know about you but I have something to say: I like "The Jungle Book" as adapted by Disney. I would like one day my children or grand-children to be able to look at it make posters from it, edit it, etc. Our children are all influenced: imagine your daughter going to school for the first time and the first thing she tells you is "Daddy, all my new friends went to Disneyland. Can you take me there?". You can't refuse, can you? And after that, it is the never ending stream of "I want the Pooh bag, ...". I don't imagine trying to explain copyright to a 3 year old child. I don't really either want to bank roll the MPAA.
End of the argument: I want Disney stuff to fall in the public domain. And as soon as possible... Can you make sure you don't open a big can of worm?

By: Eric Seppanen

Eric Seppanen — Wed, 04 Jun 2003 22:19:50 +0000

I signed the petition; but I'm a bit confused on what the status is: has it been written down in precise form anywhere yet? It's not clear to me how such a change would treat works that are already over 50 years in age: when would a book from 1945 enter the public domain if no copyright owner surfaces?

By: Brian Flemming

Brian Flemming — Wed, 04 Jun 2003 21:08:38 +0000

Put a brief and an entirely fictitious Interview with Lawrence Lessig on my blog.

By: Matt Madden

Matt Madden — Wed, 04 Jun 2003 18:47:37 +0000

Thank you for your efforts. I signed your petition today. While I do not yet understand the nuances of copyright law, I join most Americans in understanding the value of the commons and public domain.

Lessig Blog Readers: If you haven't signed Prof. Lessig's petition yet -- please do so! This isn't going to be front-page news or the top story on your local news tomorrow, but it is invaluable to a democratic and creative society that we protect and expand the wealth of creativity available to us all!