Copyrights and ownership

[Ding-dong]

As a frustrated engineer I find copywriting and ownership completely baffling.

Why do we protect music, art etc .. so vigorously. 

[NM01]

So that lazy people or those looking to make money without doing the work can’t steal from the creator.

Imagine spending hours upon hours creating something and then someone comes, takes what you created and strata selling it and taking credit for it and now you lose out on potential earnings and/or recognition for your hard work.

Not really that hard of a concept to understand why it’s protected so hard

[Ding-dong]

1 hour ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

So that lazy people or those looking to make money without doing the work can’t steal from the creator.

Imagine spending hours upon hours creating something and then someone comes, takes what you created and strata selling it and taking credit for it and now you lose out on potential earnings and/or recognition for your hard work.

Not really that hard of a concept to understand why it’s protected so hard

But why limit to those items ? Why are the engineers who developed the lift or escalators not paid every time they are used ? 

[NM01]

17 minutes ago, Ding-dong said:

But why limit to those items ? Why are the engineers who developed the lift or escalators not paid every time they are used ? 

Because the engineer of those items worked for a company and the company who that engineer worked for was paid by the businesses they were installed in and the engineer received their compensation for their work.

The IP belongs to the company and not the engineer. I’m pretty sure every engineer and other employee of certain types of business agrees as part of their employment that their work belongs to the company and anything they develop even in free time is owned by the company. I know in my industry which has engineers, coders, and many other very smart people that own patents that is how it works

[Ding-dong]

Yep that’s what happens to me as engineer. Guess it was a poor career choice in the end.

[revkev]

51 minutes ago, Ding-dong said:

But why limit to those items ? Why are the engineers who developed the lift or escalators not paid every time they are used ? 

We do protect them through the patent system. However if they or for that matter an artist or musician works for a company, the company who invests resources in that person’s work reaps more of the benefits. It then depends upon the contract that the engineer or artist has with the company. 
 

I have a college roommate who wrote, directed and performed music that many of us hear on a weekly basis. It’s the trumpet fanfare for Sunday Night football. NBC owns that. They’d paid him to do it and for those rights. 
 

I’m sure that a world renowned composer like John Williams retains the respect gets to his music when he composes a movie score. 
 

Thanks for being an engineer BTW, the world needs you. 

[NM01]

19 minutes ago, Ding-dong said:

Yep that’s what happens to me as engineer. Guess it was a poor career choice in the end.

Depends on how you look at it. If you went into it thinking you would get paid for everything that you came up with would get you paid everytime it was used then probably or at least the wrong place of employment.

Most artists don’t own their masters, the record label does. The record label gets the money for sales and uses and the artist gets a percentage of that. 

[revkev]

14 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Depends on how you look at it. If you went into it thinking you would get paid for everything that you came up with would get you paid everytime it was used then probably or at least the wrong place of employment.

Most artists don’t own their masters, the record label does. The record label gets the money for sales and uses and the artist gets a percentage of that. 

Correct - I know lots of musicians - 

 

The ceiling is very high and floor as low as low can get. My dad was a Lehigh grad engineer and one of my sons a graduate of Nuclear Power School (Navy). Their floors were/are both much higher than musicians and artist who may have had far more training in their crafts. 

 

[Ding-dong]

3 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Depends on how you look at it. If you went into it thinking you would get paid for everything that you came up with would get you paid everytime it was used then probably or at least the wrong place of employment.

Most artists don’t own their masters, the record label does. The record label gets the money for sales and uses and the artist gets a percentage of that. 

I did it because I have that way of thinking and working. 

[NM01]

12 minutes ago, Ding-dong said:

I did it because I have that way of thinking and working. 

if by that way of thinking you mean the mindset of an engineer such a like designing, building, etc then I would say you didn’t make the bad career choice.

Really going to come down to what the motivation is whether intrinsic or extrinsic. It seems like you are more extrinsic in that money, recognition, rewards, etc is why you chose the job and are looking to be compensated more for the work you do similar to artists, writers, etc.

If that’s the case then not working for a company and being self employed and using your skills to garner more monetary value for your work is the way to go

 

[Ding-dong]

To be honest work is work, if it’s fun that’s good. But in the end work is only to pay for other interests, and yes I have become a self employed mercenary and it suits but also allows me to deliver the answer and not the method which they may be able to replicate . The tools and processes stay in my control.