this post was submitted on 08 Feb 2024
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Discworld rerelease "may happen" but depends on "King Charles", developer says (www.eurogamer.net)
submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Well in this case. No one actually knows who owns the rights to the DiscWorld games. Unless something has changed in the last year.

We're also talking about a game licensing another entity's IP.

But let's assume that we do know. You can't declare something in the public domain without knowing who owns it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

And how does the Crown owning half help things? That's just another interested party with a lot of bureaucracy to get anything done.

Instead of that, there should be a process, something like this:

  1. Interested party approaches judge with due diligence showing the property is unclaimed
  2. Judge orders the IP agency to investigate, plaintiff pays some fee to cover that cost
  3. IP agency does own research and informs judge that no owner could be found
  4. Judge reviews evidence and orders the IP office to place a notice that the IP is unclaimed and will revert to public domain after a grace period
  5. After 6 months or so, the plaintiff is granted a temporary license to use the IP (until the end of the grace period), and after the grace period finishes (say, 5 years?), the IP enters the public domain

Other types of property are less complicated because ownership is tracked by the government.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

What you're describing is basically what happens. Only between the claimant and the government.

Also worth noting that this only applies when a company closes (is removed from the company register) and any IP isn't transferred out of the company. And in most cases it is full ownership.

So as far as the law is concerned there is no ownership of that IP. Copyrights, trademarks, patents, whatever it might be. But that doesn't mean people don't have a claim.

By moving it to a government entity that is specifically set up to deal with these claims.

It removes any ambiguity. The government can make a clear cut ruling on who owns the IP.

Because "The Crown" is just the government. And unlike a private citizen the government won't use these IPs.

There are only two things the government can do with an IP in this situation, declare someone with a valid claim as the owner, or sell it to a buyer. Who in both cases have to come to the government.

If no claims or offers are made the IP will eventually enter the public domain.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

eventually enter the public domain

But that's the problem. I'm guessing this takes until whatever the copyright term is in the UK. In the US, that's 70 years (maybe it's longer now, IDK) after the death of the original creator. If it's sold, that's still going to take a long time because they'd likely be stuck in legal limbo just like this one is and take years to clean up anytime someone wants to use the IP.

In short, I don't think unclaimed IP should be sold, it should either be claimed or put into the public domain, after a grace period. Imo, copyright duration should be much shorter, such as 14 years (original US copyright term) with an optional extension, and copyright should only be transferred once (exception for immediate family).