Copyright Question

[gumpus]

Really tempting since my belief is that the morally correct thing to do is share Pat's knowledge especially given the apparent lack of heirs. I have friends in China.

Glenn - thank you for your efforts. Just FYI the date he might have filed was 1989, not 1999.

Fun tidbit - there's a sheet inside the tape box that shows the price for a custom wood Cue (paddle) made to your specs to be $440 in 1989. That would be $1150 in 2026.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

It was my understanding that copyright protection for heirs was good for 50 years after the copyright holder’s death, or is the length different between photographs and videos?

That's one of the many other complications, but not relevant to the copyright risk I'm noodling about.

There is an international copyright treaty called the Berne Convention in which the general copyright duration is life of the creator plus 50 years, although for movies the duration seems to be 50 years from the date of creation. However, individual member nations of the treaty can have copyright durations that extend longer than the Berne minimums, and the USA has chosen life of the creator plus 70 years for all type of works as its general rule.

Just FYI the date he might have filed was 1989, not 1999.

Thanks. Got 1999 stuck in my head somehow while researching and writing last night. If 1989 (not 1999) was the creation year of the video, that would make the probability of some litigious heir still selling the video for profit, or even caring about a 37-year-old video, even more remote in my practical risk calculus.

 

[recped]

There really isn't any risk for these types of infringement. There are literally a BILLION videos on YouTube that infringe copyrights in spite of YouTube receiving over 1 Billion take down orders per year.

Google Transparency Report

transparencyreport.google.com

 

[Gamma1214]

That would be $1150 in 2026

At that price, you could post an affiliate link to just about any paddle maker and pay whatever litigation costs might arise, couldn't you?

 

[dutchlennart]

I hope one day i can see the pat moore vid. Ihave seen the tom mckensie/ bell freestyle video.
Same is for most of the bill mason one.
One of tom forster i am halve way in.

 

[scoutergriz]

I hope one day i can see the pat moore vid. Ihave seen the tom mckensie/ bell freestyle video.
Same is for most of the bill mason one.
One of tom forster i am halve way in.

If you can get TVO over there it may still be running the Bill Mason films, same as the Canadian NFB
As for getting a copy, good luck- I managed to get Song Of The Paddle through the CBC to use as an intro to canoe tripping, with permission from the Mason's, BUT I still had to sign an affidavit stating it would never be shown for commercial gain or fundraising, and I had to pay a $35 "private use license fee" even though CBC had an "all uses" license...