EU Copyright Laws stifle Creativity

Walt Disney and Cliff Richard have triumphed again. The EU has extended artists rights, and by artists  I mean the huge corporations who now own the works of artists long dead, for another 25 years.

No other section of the community can get away with this. Drugs, inventions all have very limited copyrights  and patents as if not, innovation and creativity are stifled as most original creative work builds on the innovations of the past.

It sounds so reasonable and if you are one of the lucky few, like Cliff Richard, who still owns their work it could be of a minor benefit becuase most artists want to be remembered after they are dead and restricting copyright is not the way to do this.

Already the Beatles and Hard Rock have fallen off the best selling list simply because no one sings or plays it these days and of course it is old hat. Yes, the Beatles are now old hat and will soon be forgotten. They are not Mozart! Gilbert & Sullivan operas whose copyright was guarded have suffered from the lack of innovation when held under the hands of the D'Oyle Carte from which they will never recover. The works are still witty, satiric and brilliant but have been stiffed by years of dust, amateur performances with enforced mise en scene in the name of copyright.

Peter Rabbit is headed for a similar fate as he gets lost in the land of Telli Tubbies which are now out of date themselves yet still in copyright.

Whereas the plays of Shakespeare and operas by Wagner and Mozart will continue their forward march simply because they are free to perform and are reborn for each generation, since they were created always have been. We have to thank the illegal hacks for the first editions.

Ditto James Joyce. His works would be unthinkable today as they draw on the works of past authors.

I now only do my little 'drafts' based on work before 1923 unless I get specific permission and I do ask for permission from everyone featured unless I own the material. I can virtually do everything myself. My career has had many changes of direction so I have had to learn many crafts, not as well as I should have liked, but they are useful now.

I know of none one else that can do this at present. I shouldn't have to do so! I should be able to use songs of the 1930's. My 'September' by Strauss has to wait until 2019 when I shall not be here! This is silly. Strauss died in 1949!

So now it is Lieder for me for the rest of my life. Safely out of copyright and due for a renewal but that is a separate blog!

Congratulations to Cliff Richard and the Mighty Mouse for putting creative art back to the Dark Ages!