[Cdn-DMCA] Derivative works: "Moral rights" and "Monopoly privilege"

[Chris Brand]

>  This is one of those areas we should make clear.  When we oppose the
>length of copyright protection or other such aspects of copyright, we need
>to separate Moral rights and Monopoly privilege.  I believe it is quite
>acceptable to have moral rights extend the life of the creator plus two
>generations for any type of work, but do not believe that there is any
>credibility to the idea that monopoly privileges should be extended the
>same amount of time.

Thanks, Russell. I think you're spot on there. The difference between the
two only became clear to me at the Vancouver meeting and I've never heard
anyone ask why the durations of the two should be the same. I absolutely
agree that they should be separated at the earliest possible opportunity
and I'd happily support lengthening the duration of Moral rights (provided
they were defined reasonably - I'm not sure that the proposed "Making Available"
right would qualify) while vehemently opposing any extension to the Monopoly
privilege. It should also be noted that Moral Rights themselves provide a
big incentive for creation. Just knowing that your work will make *you*
famous (rather than anyone else) is a great incentive even if there were no
Monopoly privileges. Of course, it's not a *financial* incentive, but money
isn't everything (in fact, most research says that recognition is a better
motivator than money for people, if not for corporations). This could even
form the basis of our "What are we *for*" platform - use of moral rights
as an incentive to create rather than monopoly privileges.

Somebody should bring this up at Ottawa.

Chris
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