Once upon a time, copyrights lasted for 14 years from the creation of an artistic or literary work. The purpose was to balance the societal interests between an author (encouraging the arts by giving a limited monopoly) and the public domain (increasing the works freely available to all). With the growth of large content owning publishers, studios, and record labels, the 14-year exclusive right has morphed into a lifetime right, plus 70 years. What was once meant to encourage artistic works has now become an annuity for people who were never involved in the creative process.
Enter Google’s Nexus One phone and the estate of Philip K. Dick.
“We feel this is a clear infringement of our intellectual-property rights,” said Isa Dick Hackett, a daughter of Mr. Dick and the chief executive of Electric Shepherd Productions, an arm of the Dick estate devoted to adapting the late author’s works. “Our legal team is dealing head-on with this.”
Which “intellectual-property rights” are we talking about here? Can you guess?
Mr. Dick’s 1968 novel, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,” which served as the basis for the 1982 cult film “Blade Runner,” follows a bounty hunter chasing androids known as Nexus-6 models.
Get it? “Android” and “Nexus.” Used together! It must be a copyright violation.
Here’s hoping to get a copy of the letter sent to the Google legal department so that we can dissect the baseless claims one by one. In the meantime, Mr. Dick’s heirs will certainly see an uptick in their royalties as this story circulates.
Once this matter resolves itself, we can move on to the important issues about Blade Runner. Such as whether the film is better with the voice over, the unicorn scene, or both.
“It’s a natural impulse to want to support the little guy, the David who faces down a powerful Goliath. That’s why it’s easy to get behind 
