[cc-community] Lawyers Discussing CC License For Their Blog
drew Roberts
zotz at 100jamz.com
Fri Apr 8 08:03:58 EDT 2005
On Friday 08 April 2005 06:07 am, Peter Brink wrote:
> drew Roberts skrev:
> > I am not saying that I think this would be a good idea, but I put it
> > forward before and no one commented as to the possibility.
>
> [snip]
>
> > Now, what if you design the license such that when they do assert their
> > moral rights in such countries that they suffer consequences in other
> > countries? (Whether they win or lose in the courts of the moral rights
> > country.) Especially in relation to works they have made that are not
> > original to themselves but are derivatives or adaptations.
>
> That is an undue condition. In Sweden such a condition would likely be
> seen as an attempt to circumvent a mandatory law, and (IMHO) a Swedish
> court would find such a term unlawful per se.
I know they would, the question is, what would an American court find? I is
definately an attempt to circumvent that law, that is the point of the
question/investigation.
>
> > I fly you to America and get you to sign a transfer of copyright to me to
> > be held in escrow by a lawyer and to sign a contract that stipulates that
> > if you ever assert your moral rights to the work in question anywhere on
> > anyone, that the assignment gets handed over to me (worldwide rights) and
> > that you owe me $X dollars where, as you can see X is big, not little
> > (x)... (ok, it is a poor joke.)
> >
> > How would such a situation likely unfold?
>
> With you ending up in jail? ;)
>
> Forcing an agreement on someone where he has to sign over property to
> you and forcing wide ranging conditions on the same person is not going
> to hold up in a court. The arrangement you describe is in fact a "pactum
> turpe", an indecent agreement, an agreement which at least a Swedish
> court would refuse to arbitrate.
No one said anythin about forcing this agreement on anyone, or flying them to
America against their will. I fly yhem first class, all expenses paid. I pay
them big bucks as consideration for signing. They do it happily.
They obviously would still have the legal right in their own country to assert
their moral rights there. Now let's say they do, against a third party who is
a citizen of and living in the same town in which they live, say a town in
Sweden.
Now I find out about this action (I are in America remember and have in fact
never been to Europe) and I point it out to the law firm holding the papers
in escrow. They investigate and release the papers to me. Now I am in
posession of a legal transfer of copyright and thus completely own the work
in parts of the world where moral rights do not apply. I would not own the
moral rights in countries where they do. Would I own the economic rights
there?
all the best,
drew
More information about the cc-community
mailing list