Why is this happening? Because The Diary of Anne Frank was supposed to enter the public domain on January, 1, 2016.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Publisher Claims The Diary of Anne Frank Was Co-Written by Her Father
Why is this happening? Because The Diary of Anne Frank was supposed to enter the public domain on January, 1, 2016.
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4 comments:
When both side of the story are valid, no sides are! I'm only a little kidding. Until I read the last sentence I was getting increasingly annoyed with the Frank Fonds because its irritating when companies are clearly looking for ways to skirt copyright law, especially with the recent Happy Birthday dilemma. So such a see through and lame attempt to retain the copyright rubs me the wrong way.
Until I read the last sentence. When I read the last sentence I went "oh". The Anne Frank Fonds is a non-profit that has been donating the money to various charities on the order of above or around 1 million a year. So it is not like the people controlling the Anne Frank Fond are greedily trying to make more money, they are trying to keep the Frank Fonds alive. So both sides are valid, it should be in the public domain, but its still good for (some of) the public if it stays this way. Interested to see how this turns out.
In this particular article I would have liked some more information on what the time tables are for copyrights. Does it say some where that after a certain amount in time, published journals become fair game? Also I don't really understand what right the copyright office has to take this ownership of the book away from the Anne Frank Fonds. It was founded by her father with the intent of dividing out the income form the book, which it still does. While this original author is no longer living the intent and rights owners should still have a say in the treatment of the book. If Maya Angelou passes her books belong to who ever she leaves the rights to. Its the same in this case. Anne was a minor when she died, her father owned the rights to the book. When her father passed the company owned the rights. And they still should.
Well I was fully prepared to write a rant about the abuse of this as a way to greedily hold on to the rights of the diary for another few years. The fact that in fact the Anne Frank Fonds is actually a charity however complicates my feelings on that. On the other hand, I still do believe that this book should be allowed to enter the public domain as I believe it would make it more accessible. The Holocaust is a terrible time in our history but that makes it all the more important that we continue to tell the story of the people who lived through it. While I am sure that the Anne Frank Fonds does some great work I believe that there is no reason for us to delay the release of this historical work to the public domain. I hope a compromise is able to be found and we are able to have our cake and eat it too.
The issue of copyright is a major one as of late due to the large number of historical works about to enter the public domain, unless stopped by those who currently own the copyright and are requesting a renewal. While the copyright is used to protect the author and the integrity of the work, the argument that feels most valid is the income produced from owning a copyright into the hands of a select group.
Much like other governmental policies aimed at helping not hurting, the copyright has unintended consequences such as limiting the availability of the document—the Anne Frank House would have the ability to publish an annotated version, creating a more integrated academic source for both scholars and readers alike. On a more pragmatic note, the release of the diary into the public domain would increase readership merely due to the accessibility of the document online and in stores for lowered prices. In the end, what is more important? The copyright or spreading awareness?
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