Quote from: RPGPundit;819650I miswrote; I actually meant that something created in 1976 wouldn't go into the public domain until 1971.

I think you might have a typo in this post as well.

Quote from: Bren;819654I think you might have a typo in this post as well.

No no! What Pundit meant was that eventually the extension will be extended so far that time will end, then restart and THEN copyright will expire a few years before the item is invented.

Quote from: Omega;819665No no! What Pundit meant was that eventually the extension will be extended so far that time will end, then restart and THEN copyright will expire a few years before the item is invented.

LOL yes, we'll just say that.

Quote from: Haffrung;819081But then I find fanfic in general absolutely baffling and kinda pathetic. It comes across as a desperate desire belong to something else, rather than a healthy creative endeavour.

It's true. Shakespeare was an absolutely terrible writer. I mean, Troilus & Cressida is literally fan-fiction based on somebody else's fan-fiction. And don't even get me started on that piece of crap called Oedipus Rex.

... no, wait. Now that I think about it, I actually have no idea what the hell you're talking about.

Quote from: Justin Alexander;819935It's true. Shakespeare was an absolutely terrible writer. I mean, Troilus & Cressida is literally fan-fiction based on somebody else's fan-fiction. And don't even get me started on that piece of crap called Oedipus Rex.

... no, wait. Now that I think about it, I actually have no idea what the hell you're talking about.

Disregard original reply. I wasn't keeping up with the thread.

Quote from: cranebump;820104Wow...always interesting when personal bias trumps reality. If you mean Shakespeare stole all his plots, okay. Terrible writer.  Now you're just trolling the universe, my friend. I mean, Jane Austen bores me to tears, but she wrote, and wrote well, no question. So, it'd be silly of anyone to call her horrible. Too much evidence to the contrary.  (And I'd consider Euripides light years ahead of Sophocles, but, different sensibilities. Aristophanes ranks above them both IMHO.)

He was using satire.

Quote from: S'mon;820209He was using satire.

To disprove the contention that all fan fiction is creatively lame by showing Shakespeare's plays are also fan fiction since Shakespeare also took his settings from the works of other authors.

Quote from: Bren;820211To disprove the contention that all fan fiction is creatively lame by showing Shakespeare's plays are also fan fiction since Shakespeare also took his settings from the works of other authors.

Not just his settings; entire plots. Romeo & Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, etc. were "adaptations" of Roman plays.

Quote from: TristramEvans;820246Not just his settings; entire plots. Romeo & Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, etc. were "adaptations" of Roman plays.

Sure. Doesn't change the sarcasm nor the argument though.

Quote from: Haffrung;819081So what? I've never understood the sense of entitlement people have for using other people's creations, or even the desire. You like Conan? Cool. Make up your own barbarian character and write stories about him. Why do you need to use stuff other people made up? .

Nobody creates in a vacuum. Very few works are that original if any are. Each artist/author learns from the common pool, and then puts his or her own unique twist on it.

The artist/author should be able to profit from their efforts by have some exclusive rights to their creation. However ethics and common sense demands that their work be returned to the common pool so others can benefit as they benefited.

The last point is that copyright is instituted as a form of censorship and control by the crowned heads of Europe. Starting in the Statues of Anne in the early 18th century it morphed into something useful in allowing creators to profit from their work. But one has to keep in mine that it was and can be abused to curtail are natural rights.

Not to mention that in Britain it's possible to copyright historical facts.

Quote from: TristramEvans;820284Not to mention that in Britain it's possible to copyright historical facts.

No wonder they conquered an empire half a globe away; I'd also like to get away from such retarded laws as far as possible.

Quote from: Bren;819654I think you might have a typo in this post as well.

Pundit is tuypo1's alt, confirmed.

Quote from: Justin Alexander;819935ITroilus & Cressida is literally fan-fiction based on somebody else's fan-fiction.

Shakespeare is awesome but T&C is legitimately terrible.

Quote from: Ladybird;820311Pundit is tuypo1's alt, confirmed.

That made me laugh.