Posted by Jim Andrada on May 28, 2003 at 12:35:45:
In Reply to: Re: Bill Bell recordings on LP? posted by Brian Frederiksen on May 28, 2003 at 09:30:54:
I think you have to take into account in cases like this that the record/CD/whatever is not available for purchase. If it were, I'm sure most folks would be happy to buy one. Not all, of course, but most.
But at the moment, copying , illegal though it may be, is the only way short of finding someone who has one to trade or sell. Just like P. O. P. music.
My personal opinion (not worth anything in a court of law) is that copyright should lapse as soon as the copyright owner fails to make the material commercially available.
After all, isn't the original (since perverted by Mickey Mouse, etc) concept behind patents, copyrights, etc to provide protection in return for making the material publicly available, thereby ensuring that authors, inventors etc make the benefits of their works available to the widest possible audience instead of hiding them?