Lately I have noticed that in almost every movie and some TV shows the production year is displayed in Roman number wich makes it hard for the viewer to identify the year…
Why do they do this, is very annoying???
You’ve answered your own question. They want it hard for people to figure out just how old that re-run is.
[semi-WAG]But they still need to include the year in some form as a sort of date-stamp for copyright purposes. Otherwise, they could dispense with it all together, no?[/s-WAG]
No. The need to put the year of copyright on anything expired in 1989.
It’s just tradition. TV has less history than movies so it’s not as prevalent there. It will eventually die out, except for a few stragglers.
Nooo! That’s the only way I keep sharp on my Roman numerals!
Why I feel the need to keep sharp on my Roman numerals, I have no idea…but I do.
So if it expired in 1988 or in 1990, then no copyright date needed?!
-FrL-
No, the law that required putting the copyright on was superseded by a new law in 1989. After the new law went into effect it was not necessary to put a date on any new material, nor was it necessary to put the © or equivalent. It did not affect any material already in existence.
Ah! Thanks.
-FrL-
The idea of tricking people on dates goes back before movies with the copyright law on maps. Since nobody will buy an old map, mapmakers got an exception to having dates appear with the copyright. But how that is different from old books I have no idea. They just found a sympathetic lawmaker that first day, and the rule has never been changed over the centuries.
I looked through the Copyright Act of 1976, which was the act superseded by the current version, and I found no mention of maps not having to display the date of copyright.
I may have just missed it, but I’d like a cite for this assertion.