James Joyce's terrible descendants have decided to use the newly extended Euro copyright to bully anyone who publicly reads his work, in Ireland, on Bloomsday, into silence.
Christ, this makes me angry enough to spit. Note to my literary executor: if you ever dream of doing anything like this after I die, I'll come back from the dead and reach out of the toilet and unspool your guts while dragging you down to hell. Sheesh.
…[T]he Joyce estate has informed the Irish government that it intends to sue for copyright infringement if there are any public readings of Joyce's works during the festival commemorating the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday this June.
James Joyce died in 1941 and the copyright in his work expired in 1991. Then the EU extended terms to life+70 years, and the work went back into copyright in July 1995. The estate has been very active in enforcing their copyright, suing regularly.
(via Lessig)
