Curious question: When do you think an author's works enter into public domain?
I'm not sure if "public domain" is quite the term I'm looking for, but I'm thinking of assorted published novels (ex. Cosette or Scarlett or Wide Sargasso Sea) written about the same characters and in the same world as other published novels.
This is going to sound horribly mercenary or cold-hearted or some such, but while I can very much understand respecting an author's wishes while the author is alive and probably several generations after, do you think that their works ever pass a point in which they.. not belong, but.. are more in the hands of the public, I suppose?
I ask mostly because I think many people see a very clear delineation between writing different takes of famous novels of the past versus fanfiction.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2004-10-19 10:07 pm (UTC)I'm not sure if "public domain" is quite the term I'm looking for, but I'm thinking of assorted published novels (ex. Cosette or Scarlett or Wide Sargasso Sea) written about the same characters and in the same world as other published novels.
This is going to sound horribly mercenary or cold-hearted or some such, but while I can very much understand respecting an author's wishes while the author is alive and probably several generations after, do you think that their works ever pass a point in which they.. not belong, but.. are more in the hands of the public, I suppose?
I ask mostly because I think many people see a very clear delineation between writing different takes of famous novels of the past versus fanfiction.