Post originally by Dan at 2003-07-28 21:08:28
Converted from Phorums BB System

"What error was that, pray tell?"

You claimed that the U.S. laws followed British laws when it came to copyright because of the Berne Convention, which the U.S. actually wasn't part of at the times in question.

"It is piracy if you are using a local legal technicality to invalidate still existing copyright"

It's not invalidating the copyright. The British copyright terms are whatever they are supposed to be. I am just saying that people in the U.S. follow the U.S. laws, not your laws.

"which is what you are describing by insisting on using U.S. copyright law rather than that of the works country of origin."

The country of origin doesn't matter. Only the laws of the country you are in matter.

"The Invisible Man was first published in Great Britain. Unless you can demonstrate otherwise, your argument is so much nonsense. "

Again, country of origin does not matter. If it gets published in the U.S. it has to follow U.S. laws. If they didn't want to follow U.S. laws they could have refused to publish here. Once they published here and accepted sales in the U.S. they can;t go back and then ignore the laws here. Insisting that we use British laws in the U.S. is pointless and stupid.

" Yet you continually quote U.S. copyright law and expect it to apply to material created outside the U.S."

I didn't say that. You are the one claiming that the whole world has to follow your laws.

" You say that if under U.S. law something is in the public domain, then no other legal system matters."

No other legal system other than the U.S. one matters for people in the U.S. Facts are facts. If Australia passes a law outlawing red ties OF COURSE we in the U.S. are going to ignore it. Same thing with copyrights.

"Sorry, but it does."

Not for U.S. projects, no. Where it was filmed, the nationality of the actors, etc. does not matter. Now if they release in other countries, they follow the laws there... but, oddly enough, the Invisible Man is still public domain in all these countries because the copyright expired even under the most generous of laws.

So, for crying out loud, stop arguing things that are completely irrelevant.