andrel a écrit :
> On 20-Dec-08 23:48, Vincent Le Chevalier wrote:
>>
>> I guess we'll have to find the authors of the New Testament and sue 
>> them for trying to write a somewhat disparaging sequel to the Old 
>> Testament :-)
>>
> I wasn't aware that the old testament as written in France. Can you 
> prove that?

No, but I wasn't aware either that only French people were into futile 
lawsuits. Can you prove that ;-) ?

-- 
Vincent

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Vincent Le Chevalier a écrit :
> Some surprising debate going on in France about this:
>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/3852586/Victor-Hugos-family-loses-battle-to-ban-sequels.html

> 
> 
> Frankly I'm amazed that people find something there to debate. The 
> sequels do not harm the original work in the slightest way, and the 
> original work is in the public domain anyway.

In France (and Europe, generally), author's rights are divided into two
distinct parts :
  - patrimonial, which ensures author can get money from his work.
    Patrimonial rights are inherited, and heirs keep getting money up
    until 70 years after the author's death.
  - moral rights, which ensures the author has control over what
    is done with his works. Moral rights NEVER expire. Respect is
    due to the works forever; for example, you can't normally publish
    a modified version of "hamlet", where you changed some random words,
    or say you wrote it yourself...

However, I'm not sure WHO is legally entitled to the moral rights
control after the patrimonial ones are extinct. I would think that
the Hugo family is no more qualified than you and I to do so.
I don't see on which legal basis any judge would rule in their favor.

Fabien.

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Fa3ien a écrit :

> However, I'm not sure WHO is legally entitled to the moral rights
> control after the patrimonial ones are extinct. I would think that
> the Hugo family is no more qualified than you and I to do so.
> I don't see on which legal basis any judge would rule in their favor.

(after some more reading...)

Well, I was wrong, moral right is perpetually inherited !!!

see here :

http://merlin.obs.coe.int/iris/2007/3/article19.fr.html

"Le droit moral est “perpétuel, inaliénable et imprescriptible. Il est 
transmis à cause de mort aux héritiers de l’auteur"

Which is absurd, ridiculous, and unmanageable after 2 or 3 generations !
(how many of Hugo's heirs are there now ?)

The court had enough wisdom, but the law allows for many disasters to 
come...

Fabien.

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On Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:16:37 +0100, Fa3ien <fab### [at] yourshoesskynetbe>
wrote:

> Respect is
>    due to the works forever; for example, you can't normally publish
>    a modified version of "hamlet", where you changed some random words,
>    or say you wrote it yourself...

Sorry to contradict you Fabian but that is a bad example. Most of Shakespeare's
plays are published in different versions probably because none of them were
published by him. All of the plays we have are copies from memory or from actors
working parts. There is also a tradition of adapting them, for instance Westside
Story is an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stephen [mailto:mcavoysAT@aolDOTcom]
> There is also a tradition of adapting them, for instance
> Westside
> Story is an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.

Adaptations are a bad example, because you're changing enough that it is
still considered a new work.

...Ben Chambers
www.pacificwebguy.com

I said "share," not "scare!"

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On Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:07:05 -0800, "Chambers" <ben### [at] pacificwebguycom> wrote:

>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Stephen [mailto:mcavoysAT@aolDOTcom]
>> There is also a tradition of adapting them, for instance
>> Westside
>> Story is an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
>
>Adaptations are a bad example, because you're changing enough that it is
>still considered a new work.
>

That is a good point but with Shakespeare's work what are you changing? There
are three quarto and four folio editions none of which were published by
Shakespeare and they all differ, some significantly. Furthermore, when putting
on a production of a play it is not uncommon for lines, speeches and even scenes
to be cut. This is not generally termed an adaptation.
I just meant to say to Fabien that even tho' Shakespeare is held in great esteem
his words are not sacrosanct. So much so that in Victorian times the ending of
Romeo and Juliet was changed so that they both lived happily ever after. O_O

-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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