HOW LONG ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS PROTECTED?

First, a blast from the past, in that then President Donald Trump in his first term imposed tariffs on China.  So what happened?

Donald Trump promises to impose big tariffs on Chinese products. The last time he did that, in 2018, he made at least one country boom: Vietnam.

Since it suddenly cost more to export things from China, businesses moved across the border. Especially in northern Vietnam, factories have replaced rice fields, growth rates have stayed in double-digits and exports to the United States have surged. For the first time since the 1800s, the region — once poverty-stricken — is now the country’s main economic engine.

Current trade deficits:

So will Vietnam next be a target?  No problem for China, for they just move their export base to some other country or region.  The U.S. middle and lower classes actually are most hurt through increased cost of living.

About Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for Health and Human Services Secretary, looks like his vaccine problem is slowly disappearing through adjustments.  As for example, he also now endorses the polio vaccine.  However, will abortion be his downfall?  He is pro-choice, but could also change his mind a bit.

About that Madison, Wisconsin shooting, the gun person was a 15-year old female.  Two were killed and six injured.  No name yet, but NBC floated this photo.

Four percent of school shooters are female, according to the Post database, which tracks only shootings that occur during the school day on K-12 campuses in which students are present.

Another way of looking at this is that this year alone, "only" five students have been fatally shot by an assailant while inside school.  And that's out of 50 million enrolled in K-12 schools.  So should you be concerned about your child being killed by a shooter in school?  The odds are 6,250,00 to 1 that your child was safe this year.  Or around half a million to one that the child would not be killed by a shooter in all 13 years of school.  Google AI said the annual odds are 1 in 614,000,000. K-12 shooting statistics.

Since 2006 there have been 589 mass shooters who killed at least four victims.  Of those assassins, 5.6% were female. 

So on to the topic of the day, copyrights and the public domain.  As you might know, if you create an intellectual property, like Popeye the Sailor by E.C. Segar, it remains under your control for 95 years. This subject is so amorphous, that I dare you to read Wikipedia's Public Domain in the United States, and say you thoroughly understand what was written.

Some problems in execution.

• If the "author" dies, then what?
• There are so many different kinds of "works," with various exceptions.
• Do you need to officially copyright your work and get a written response?
• While the Constitution started this all, copyright length has changed many times since then.
• At the start of the 20th century, Congress extended the term of 28 years to 56 years.
• Then in 1974 to 70 years, but...
• In 1976 to 75 years, with conditions.
• In 1988, up to 95 years for corporate authorship, and life plus 70 years for individuals.
• As of January 1, 2024, all published works from 1928 and before are public domain.
• Unpublished works length is 71 years.
• See if you truly understand the following graphic.

• Sonny Bono Act?

President Bill Clinton signed the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 on October 27, 1998. From 2019 onwards, works published in a given year enter the public domain at the end of the 95th calendar year after publication. For example, works published in 1928 entered the public domain on January 1, 2024.

Of course, the above only applies to the USA.  About the rest of the world:

• Most of Europe uses from death of creator plus 70 years, with exceptions being Belarus and Spain.
• Spain, Columbia and Equatorial Guinea = 80 years after death.
• Bangladesh, Haiti, India and Venezuela = 60 years after death.
• Africa, Asia, Belarus, Bolivia and New Zealand = 50 years after death.
• Australia and Canada are a bit different.

With that introduction, I get into a Time article on what will enter the American public domain in 2025.

• Any film first appearing in 1929 (and sound recordings in 1924) enters the public domain on 1January2025.
• What this means is that anyone can use or repurpose that property without permission or payment to copyright holders.

Oh, so what about patents, trademarks and trade secrets?  Well, patents are only good for 20 years, except that a design patent is only for 15 years.  That 170 years for copyrights can be reached if the author lived a very, very long life.

  

Some day I'll get into these other intellectual property rights.  Finally, the following popular songs enter the public domain on 1January2025.

• Ain't Misbehavin'
• Can't We Be Friends?
• Honeysuckle Rose
• I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan
• Just You, Just Me
• Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)
• More Than You Know

• 
  Singin' in the Rain ( the song was introduced in 1929, but the film, portraying Hollywood in those days, in 1952)
• Stardust (1929 version with words by Mitchell Parish)
• What Is This Thing Called Love?
• With a Song in My Heart
• Without a Song

Films and books gaining the public domain on 1January2025?  Click on THIS.

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