Why would he mind? Is he planning to produce the play again? Is he planning to publish it? Is he planning to make any use of it, or to make money off of it? Is there any reason to suspect that this play might be anything to him other than a distant memory?
Why SHOULD anyone assume he wouldnt mind? Why should anyone feel the need to make such an assumption, when he is reachable through Patty?
Sure, Therin should ask Koening’s permission if he has the opportunity to do so. It would be the courteous thing to do.
It would also be the
legal thing to do.
But if that’s not possible,
But as clarified earlier, it is possible. Send Patty a PM and ask her to check.
it would be a real shame for the play to be lost simply because of the technicality of copyright law
The key word here is... yep, you guessed it...
law - not to mention just how... (cant think of a word that may not be censored) it is to assume one can
steal someone else's work to share with others without their consent.
when there’s no reason to believe that posting it would in any way harm the author.
Under what premise do you make such an assumption? Besides, copyright protection has nothing to do with whether the copyright holder is harmed. You may be confusing trademark protection with copyright protection. If I write something and copyright it, and decide I want no one to see it, share it or distribute it, that is my choice - and supported by
law, regardless of what others' (incorrect)
opinions are on the matter.
It’s worth noting that “lost” footage and behind-the-scenes photographs are routinely posted on this site. Well, guess what? Film and photographs are protected by copyright law, just like plays, but nobody seems to mind when such lost treasures are discovered and given new life.
A big difference, when Paramount decides to allow such things to happen as it provides marketing for a product that they make money off of. And in various instances, the exact opposite reaction is the case - for instance when people tried posting ST:11 pics on various forums and websites without Paramount's permission.
To assume Walter will not mind because others do is absurd. My neighbor doesnt mind if I walk onto their property and go into their shed and borrow their tools... I bet you if you did it, they'd be pretty upset and take action against you though. If it's me, it's borrowing... if it were you, it's trespassing and theft.
You cannot lump in everyone, or especially not one particular person based off your
opinions on the matter.
This play is a lost treasure of similar nature.
In fact, if you look at
Castle Rock v Carol Publishing, it’s pretty clear that Memory Alpha and Memory Beta technically infringe upon Paramount’s copyrights, but nobody objects to posting links to those sites on this forum.
Wrong... they do not. They do so with the full knowledge of Paramount/CBS. Again, you are trying to lump in "everyone" based off one specific group or incident. And I guarantee you, just like on our forums, the moderators here are very diligent in ensuring that no one goes too far in what they post. For instance, try posting a TOS episode here, and find how quickly they shut down your account and send you a "nasty" PM or email.
As another for instance, I am a big Iron Maiden fan... if I want to make a copy of their latest CD and give it to my friend to get them into Iron Maiden, guess what? Maiden doesnt care - and publicly stated such. Now... if it were Metallica, a lawsuit may be forthcoming. They are both protected by the same copyright law, but Maiden has chosen to allow such. Metallica has not. Same law, different decisions by the copyright owners.
