Repeal "Public Domain"

[Estayland]

VOTING ENDS MONDAY!

Noting the passage of United Nations Resolution #60, 'Public Domain',

Acknowledging that the establishment of the public domain and mechanisms to place a work into the public domain are important parts of copyright law,

Unconvinced of the case for requiring that member States place their government works into the public domain, when the use of liberal licences provide similar social benefits,

Deeply concerned that the resolution places freeware and shareware works into the public domain, when traditionally these licences allow authors to maintain copyright while permitting free distribution of their works,

Condemning the hardship the resolution has caused for shareware authors who had relied for their income on works published prior to the passage of the resolution,

Noting that clause 5 of United Nations Resolution #163, 'UN Copyright Convention', make the other provisions of the resolution redundant,

1. Repeals United Nations Resolution #60, 'Public Domain';

2. Urges delegates to consider existing definitions and usage when defining terms in future resolutions.