An updated book of memoirs by China's last emperor Pu Yi has been published by the Qunzhong Publishing House. It is an expanded version of a book originally published in 1964. The Beijing Supreme People's Court acknowledged that Pu Yi was the copyright owner, although as all such celebrities, he certainly didn't write the book himself.
Now his brother Pu Ren says that Qunzhong Publishing House should have asked permission to republish an expanded version of the book. This is clearly an imperial misuse of copyright. Even if we recognize the copyright of Pu Yi, what has his brother got to do with it? Is he styling himself as an imperial heir to the Dragon Throne. In that case he should be put in jail for trying to restore the empire.
Pu Yi and his last wife are long dead. He has no surviving children. Why should a brother profit from the publishing of Pu Yi's book? The brother also said the book violated Pu Yi's privacy because it described the infidelity of his former wife Wan Rong. In that case, anybody who ever wrote a word about Monica Lewinsky should also be prosecuted for violating Bill Clinton's privacy. Celebrities forfeit part of their privacy by being, well... celebrities. They can always chose to remain in obscurity, but then that they will miss out on the glamor and the glitter.
Copyright of published materials should be abolished altogether and replaced by the GPL-license, allowing anyone to reproduce the work and add to it, provided the original author is recognized. Journalists and authors are paid by their newspaper or publishing house, which make money by selling the originals. Why would they have to make even more money from re-publishing?
Do away with copyright and introduce the freedom to publish, the freedom of copyleft or the right to copy.
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