Lichtenbergian Precepts: Steal from the Best

/

Whose woods these are I think I know.   
His house is in the village though;   
He will not see me stopping here   
To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

steal from the best.jpg

This is of course the opening stanza of Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods,” published in 1923. In 1999, composer Eric Whitacre was commissioned to set it to music, which he did. However, after two performances the Robert Frost Foundation issued a cease and desist letter: despite Whitacre’s belief that the poem was in the public domain, it was not; it was still under copyright. Whitacre had the poet Anthony Silvestri write new lyrics for the music, and it is now performed as “Sleep.” (It’s gorgeous, an international hit, and the Frost Foundation shot themselves in the foot not allowing their lyrics to be used.)

So what happened? Frost’s copyright in the poem should have expired, but in 1998 the Walt Disney Corporation convinced Rep. Sonny Bono (R-Cher) to introduce legislation that extended existing copyright for 20 years. Why? Because Disney’s copyright on Mickey Mouse was about to expire, and Disney was not about to play fair. (The law is derisively known as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act.”)

Some background: copyright is an author’s right to ownership of his/her work for a limited time, after which it passes into the public domain, where the rest of us are free to use it any way we like. You can publish your own edition, you can adapt it (“derivative work”), you can copy it or remake it without penalty.

The purpose of copyright is to protect an author’s income, and the purpose of the public domain is to make sure that our culture is sustained and enriched by that author’s work after copyright expires. Copyright was never meant to be eternal; authors were expected to get back in the studio and create new work if they wanted to continue making money.

Because of the Mickey Mouse Protection Act nothing has entered the public domain for 20 years, but tomorrow, January 1, 2019, that’s over: works published in 1923 will be released for free use, including “Stopping by Woods.” (Whitacre is said to be considering re-releasing “Sleep” with Frost’s lyrics.)

So when we talk about STEALING FROM THE BEST (which we will do more fully on Wednesday), here’s a list of works from which you can —as of tomorrow — legally steal:

  • Films, including Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last

  • Music, including “Yes, We Have No Bananas” and “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out”

  • Literature, including Gibran’s The Prophet, Rice’s The Adding Machine, e.e. cummings’ Tulips & Chimneys, Wallace Stevens’ Harmonium, and Toomer’s Cane

  • Art, including Brancusi’s “Bird in Space” and Duchamp’s “Large Glass”

For a comprehensive look at copyright and Public Domain Day, head over to Duke Law School’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain:

(Personal to Duke Law: 1996 called and wants their web design back.)

So as you pop your champagne tonight, remember: STEAL FROM THE BEST OF 1923!