I've known that copyight in the United States started at 14 years, but what that meant didn't really hit home for me until I realized that a system like this would mean Goldeneye 64 would enter the public domain in a few months' time.  Not only that, but every single game on the NES and SNES would also be in the public domain by now.  Unfortunately, reality dictates that cartoons from the 20s are still copyrighted, and will be for all time as long as Walt Disney successfully lobbies the government into extending the length of copyright every time Mickey Mouse comes close to entering the public domain.

But is 14 (or 25) years really unreasonable?

A company (like Disney or Nintendo) should be able to protect people from creating new works based on their IP with Trademarks, but after enough time has passed why is it wrong to let people have free access to this already created material? The company and its creators have turned massive profits already, and there is no legitimate argument that copying this material would cause any harm to the company (or the people who created the content).

Games kind of re-created the interactive Read-Write Culture that was lost by the invention of radio.  I think like the guy was saying in the video, Trademark like land owners should use common sense, and only exercise there rights under law of copy write where  very harmfully trespassing  is happening.

Having a agreement of just how much content is open for open domain and letting people know could be at least a step forward.  Some of this modern culture is helpful to the original creator, It spreads the idea that the original creator is a Icon for a new group of people.

Cosplay comes up to mind right about now.   

But the Idea that they make software to stop everyone from copying and Plugging content on the internet, feels absolutely  stupid.

Its basically taking a Read-Write Environment of the internet and restricting it of the Write part.  So basically bringing us back to the TV brainwashing stage, of Read only.

OOOH now im pissed lol

Copyrite laws are probably the worst.  They help no one but big corporations.  Hell they don't even help the artists they're supposed to "protect".  On another note according to wikileaks the U.S. government is trying to shape the copyrite law here in Canada.

I am probably going against the rest here but I do think any company and/or person should have a right to keep their ideas until they want to let it become fully out in the public domain. However, I also believe companies should follow the Valve model of things, for example how Zombie Panic Source is a mod of Half-Life Source (probably my favorite zombie game). I also like what that guy at newgrounds did with that Super Mario Bros. medley type game allowing you to play through the entire SMB1 as Mario, Samus, Contra characters, Link, Ryu (ninja gaiden), and Megaman. Of course this last example should probably extend to games made up to 2 generations ago like having someone being able to mod crash, spyro, or ratchet and clank.

http://www.canadiancontent.net/commtr/canada-becoming-cybercrime-haven_1076.html

LOL.   ya your right. I just found this today.

I'd say it should be a matter of protection (at least under US law) applying only for companies making money on a given product, and if they don't make use of that product for a certain amount of time, it should lapse. Not necessarily lapse automatically, but if they stop using it and don't use it for a certain amount of time. Take Mother 1 for NES. Nintendo hasn't done anything at all with that game in forever, so why should they care if its being freely distributed?

Similar things for, say, products that are never really going to be released in the USA but pirated from other countries.

Copyright is a dinosaur concept that corporations are trying to enforce in the Internet Age, but it's quite impossible. Some companies understand that and concede the fight partially by putting things up in a free, ad-supported environment (like Funimation with One Piece. Fansubbers beat Funimation to the punch releasing English subbed versions of One Piece episodes by weeks or months, and instead of being whiny bitches about it and complaining to Law Enforcement, they stepped up, used their priveleges as USA distributor to get copies of the episodes before they air in Japan, and are able to simultaneously publish their subbed episodes against Japanese broadcast, and in doing so have effectively neutralized the threat). Sites like Hulu do this on a larger scale, and a great many television networks do similar things, making content available for "free" on the internet in a reasonable amount of time after it goes out the conventional way.

IP Piracy is simply the market reacting to outdated policies these companies cling to, but the Companies try to cheat the market by making law enforcement intervene, but law enforcement is always a step behind in these matters.

I think this is the biggest problem.  These corporations are so behind, they can probably make so much more money off of advertising and such if they just release this content on the sites instead they cling on to the old ways of business.  I mean your funimation example is perfect; I'm sure Funimation is profiting because of their simulcasts and such.  Hell Funimation is one of the few anime companies still in business and I'm sure it's because they're adapting to the situation instead of fighting it.

I think realizing that it is who we are as a costumer is definitely to the advantage of a company.    It could be the thing that set a company apart and all others will simply fall behind and become irrelevant.

Times change and needs change.  I'm sure understanding that is a advantage over competition. 

and it was all brought about by Disney wanting to protect Mickey Mouse...