Elvis may be about to enter the public domain

[Amelia G]

Yikes! Perhaps coincidentally or perhaps as a legislative lobbying piont, BMG re-released Elvis Presley's "That's All Right" and it is currently charting in the UK. The song will apparently enter the public domain at the end of this year, unless Britain changes its copyright laws to provide for longer terms or renewals. US law is different, but the UK only grants a 50 year copyright at this time. It seems to be expected that the law will change before The Beatles hits are all public domain soundtracks for blogs.

[Tequila Zaire]

Well to be honest I hope it does...copyright law around the world is absolute bullshit at this point. Public Domain is important for the creation of new work and art as a whole...look at Disney...a megacorporation BUILT on properties from the public domain. I can understand creators wanting to protect their work and make sure it's profitable for generations to come...but their should be a limit to it. Disney has lobbied relentlessly to make sure it's copyrights NEVER leave their hands or fall into public domain.

A great example of public domain starting an "industry" is the film It's a Wonderful Life. It fell into public domain and became THE film of the holiday season because of it. Not only that but it really pushed the idea of movies on tv and later movies for sale to the public.

Without things falling into public domain we're forced to view many great ideas in ONE way alone...I would love to see Disney lose some of it's properties and have them reinterpreted by a new generation of artists...but I do agree some creations become more of a trademark than a peice of work. Like Mickey Mouse...it's understandable why Disney fights to make sure that character does not fall into public domain.

But with vaults filled to the brim with "copyrighted work" it's time to let it go and hope it finds life and $$$ in other hands.

[BrightStar]

I hate how Disney is always changing stuff around in their stories.
Especially in Pokahontas (Or whatever way that is properly spelled?)
In the realy story/history, she went back to England with him, but then she left him and married some other guy, or some similar type of stuff.

In Disney, they changed it to where she stayed behind and everybody got all sad.

Granted she left John Smith and married John Rolph, and then she died of disease in England because she didnt get those diseases as a child, but they could have edited that part out and made her go back to England. That way, the story would have been more true to history.

[Mirren]

Unfortunately Disney has never been concerned with history. Generally only with profit . I mean technically, what is written in history books may not all be true or the entire truth anyway. The winners wrote their accounts in history books long ago. I am not familiar with Pocahontas' true life story though.

[BrightStar]

True. History IS written by the victors.

[memorydream]

That reminds me of the old law that if you didn't use a comic book character you had rights to every ten years, anyone could swipe it. Does anyone know anything about that?