CREATIVE TESTAMENT OF MYRSKI
Article 0. The purpose of this testament is to settle the questions with reading and publishing of Chris Myrski, who will be called further Author, after his death, chiefly on various websites in different countries, but also in printed form. The party that offers the people the works of the Author will be called Firm, and the party where the Firm must send the necessary percents of the profit will be called Recipient; this can happen also with the use of so called Distributive Fund (or Distributor), which will be explained below. Other terms will be explained in the process of narration of the Testament; the use of Italic font and parentheses is set by the Author. The publishing of this testament on various websites confirms that such is the will of the Author, because another person can not publish on his sites.
Article 1. (1) The creative work of the Author (Chris Myrski, whose name is a pseudonym) belongs to
all people. This means that any company or private person
has the rights to copy him from where it or he (or she) wants and offer his works
after his death to all wishing to become acquainted with him, provided that this party is not enriched in this way by direct usage of his works more than some minimal value, which we will call Threshold. But if the Threshold is exceeded then this party is obliged to send directly, or through some Distributive Fund, the main part of the profit to suitable Recipients in accordance with the next articles. Under direct enrichment is understood requiring of payment for reading or copying of his works, yet this, that it can increase its ranking (what can somehow be expressed also in increasing of its profits) simply by showing, offering of his works to the readers on the sites, or in another way, without requiring money specifically for this, is not counted for direct enrichment and for this it is obliged nothing to nobody, so that if a given Firm does not want to engage itself with calculations and sending of money to suitable Recipients, then it must simply not require money for reading or copying of the Author.
(2) The copyrights of the Author are meaningful only during the Author's life, and after this time remains only the right of each Firm offering the works of the Author, as well also of the Distributor in the given country (as interested authorities), to check whether all Firms send the necessary payments to suitable Recipients. The direct heirs of the Author, and only from the immediately next generation, have the rights to pretend only for 5% of the left profit from his works, and only for the given current year (i.e. to inform the Firm in advance), which can be allocated to them from the fourth part, what will be explained in Art. 3.
(3) The Threshold value is computed on yearly basis and amounts to one minimal monthly salary (MMS) for the whole year; if the year is not full then is computed the proportional part of MMS. In this way even Firms which require payment for the works of the Author can not be obliged to send money to Recipients, if their profits are very moderate.
Article 2. (1) Recipients can be either official organizations or directly individuals. Sending of money to Recipients is done on yearly basis (or for proportional part of the year, if it is not full). Their characteristics are chosen in such way that the character of their activity corresponded closely to the very Author, or then that these were some charity organizations, but not companies working only for profit. In order to avoid conditions for inobjective sponsoring only of one and the same people is forbidden to send from one Firm more than two consecutive years money to one and the same person; as to the institutions this interval is maximum three years in succession. If the Firm does not know to whom to sent the necessary sums, or there is not yet formed national Distributive Fund (or the Firm does not want to use it), then better to choose by guess one or more Recipients and send by small sums, not more than one MMS per year, than send to already used persons or organizations.
(2) Recipients institutions are most often various educational institutions, like: schools, colleges, universities, profiled such (for mathematics or exact sciences, or linguistic, or such faculties or departments), academic institutions (like national Academies of Sciences), as well also charity institutions of any nature (here is difficult to give special directions, and this is when you can't find appropriate educational institution). Here also is valid the recommendation that it is better to send the money to not quite correctly chosen Recipient, but new, different from the previous, than to sent it to one and the same organization (when can arise conditions for falsification of the spirit of the Testament).
(3) Recipients physical persons must be roughly similar with the Author, and because of this here is necessary to apply some filters for uniqueness, impartiality, and disinterestedness of the persons, but who do their work, their civic duty, in accordance with their personal views on the things. Proposed are the following characteristics for them: age more than 40 years, education higher than one tertiary (further will be specified) but in the sphere of exact sciences (mathematics, physics, chemistry, etc.) or technical, knowledge of at least three languages including the mother one, living (and /or education) at least in one foreign country (and better in two) for more than half an year, condition without permanent job at least for half an year in an year for the last two years, interdisciplinarity of their work (i.e. between sciences, or out of their sphere of education), originality of their creative work, and impartiality of the their views. More then one tertiary education means that one has studied in more than one universities and has either two tertiary educations, or specialization for more than an year, or doctor (or intermediary) degree, and everything that is more than the first education has to have been started at least
two years after receiving of the first education and in
another university, i.e. there are not suitable such Recipients who have received even PhD degree but in one go and in one university, there has to be some time between the levels of education as characteristic of creative and restless nature of these people. All these criteria are pretty complicated, so that it is hardly to comply with them by every Firm, and for this reason exist Recipients organizations.
(4) In order to characterize better the type of suitable Recipients, though, is necessary to give examples also for unsuitable persons (and from here also organizations), which are reduced to unjustified wish to show off with something foreign, i.e. bought, advertised, or unnecessary (only in the name of self-expression), not with his (or her) own ideas and achievements, people who do not work in the name of truth or the education of people, but exactly for
delusion, offering to the public only this, what they want to have (not what is useful for them). Putting this otherwise, suitable as Recipients are persons nonconformists and free thinkers, yet balanced and reasonable people, who do not intend to gain only benefits with their creative work (and that is why they have to be sponsored), they can offer interesting for the people things, but interesting from the viewpoint of knowledge or intellect, not of empty passion and laughter of uneducated masses, because the Author firmly defends the thesis that the masses must be incessantly educated, this is the only way to quiet and meaningful life, but this process is very slow. The people have to be educated, yet taught to think alone, not with ready phrases and forms, this, really, is difficult to do, but this is what the people need. In accordance with this, regarding the Recipients organizations,
unsuitable are professions or activities in the field of: advertisement and public relations, politics, trade and business, jurisprudence and law, as also nearly all humanitarian sciences, because they don't teach people to think, only to classify the known facts in the sphere of their activity, but also in the area of different religions, which have very good intentions, yet everything is reduced to manipulation and delusion of the masses.
Article 3. (1) If the profits of the Firm exceed one MMS in an year (or proportional part, if the year is not full), then from them is subtracted 1 MMS (for service expenses), and the left sum is divided in
four equal parts (i.e. by 25%). The first part (quarter) remains for the Firm, and the other three parts are sent to different Recipients according with the following paragraphs. By establishing of the concrete addressee can be used some Distributor, if such exists, but he should not require more than one percent of the sum for his meaning, which is not obligatory for the Firm, or if the Distributor alone distributes and sends the money then not more than two percents of this sum. For covering of these expenses must suffice 1 MMS (which we have subtracted from the profits), but if it is not enough then is subtracted from this part.
(2) One part (the second quarter) is sent to the home country of the Author, which in this case is Bulgaria, to suitable Recipients.
(3) The third part (quarter) is sent to suitable Recipients in the country of the Firm, which may (as an exception) happen to be the same like in the previous paragraph.
(4) The fourth part is sent to suitable Recipients, or just to people in need,
at the discretion of the Firm; if these are separate people in need then is allowed only single help. If, though, some persons can prove convincingly that they are direct heirs of the Author, then from this part are subtracted their percents according with the Art. 1.(2).
(5) As far as Bulgaria is not, as a rule, country in which the Firm operates, then I will list some suitable Recipients organizations there, like: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), or more concrete its Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Institute of Robotics, Institute of Physics, Institute of Astronomy, then Sofia university "Kliment Ohridski", more precisely the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Faculty of Physics, possibly also other scientific research institutes or tertiary-education institutes, then Sofia mathematical gymnasium, and other mathematical gymnasiums (as more elitary gymnasiums); in addition also medical institutes and work programs in the field of oncological diseases, heart diseases, or gerontology, and all charity organizations if it is necessary to choose further. Analogues of such organizations can be used also in the country of activity of the Firm.
Article 4. (1) The Distributive Fund can be organized in every country, and they can be several (because there is no organization that must control this). It can be also a division of the most winning Firm (website) or the Firms can alternate in some way, in order to avoid the necessity for each of them to spend time on this. In any case, however, it has to perform its work for 1% of the sum that has to be sent, if is necessary only sending of the list of suitable Recipients, with some characteristics for every person (if concrete persons are mentioned), or 2% of the sum, if some transfer of money must be performed.
(2) Still, it is good if in the course of time in every country, where exist Firms winning from the works of the (deceased) Author, is built such not big Distributive Fund, which, based on the knowledge of the works of the Author, his main personal data and his tastes, will elaborate each year a list of suitable Recipients in its country, as well also in the country of the Author, and gives it free to all interested Firms, so that they managed alone, if they want, under condition that they will send information to this Fund about performed money transfers. Only if the Firms will require its services also for transfer of the money then this Distributor is to take some percents for this not exceeding 2% of the sum, and then inform the Firms about the performed transactions.
Article 5. (1) This Testament has in mind first of all Internet sites with works of the Author, which he has maintained during his lifetime, yet not only. In accordance with the Art. 1.(1) every website is entitled to copy from where only it wants some works of the Author and, performing the necessary editorial work so that the things looked decent, to offer them free or against payment, but if it receives some money, then it must obey the clauses of this Testament. The same is valid also for Firms performing printing of the Author, no matter whether they have begun to do this during his lifetime, or later than this moment, except that in this case only the part due to be paid to the Author is counted for profit in terms of this Testament and is divided (without subtracting of 1 MMS) on four parts, one quarter of it remains, too, for the publishing house, and the other parts are distributed in accordance with this document; if a new publisher, however, begins to print his books, or an old one continues to issue new books of him, then the conditions for printing are according to the material with the corresponding title. The main requirement for printing of the Author, in regard of the payment for him, is reduced to this that he has to have 1/4 of the cover (selling) price (which is divided in 4 parts).
(2) (added in 2018) There may arise problems, however, with some sites (or Firms) that sell works of the Author by prices established before his death, but after this they will continue to win and may not be willing to take another obligations to send some money to some Recipients, because for them nothing has been changed, yet the Author does not more exist and, hence, this Testament forces new conditions. To avoid such ambiguities I decided to allow to those companies to
change the prices by which the works are published, in order for them to be able to take the right decision and to choose the preferred for them behaviour, i.e.: either to give the works free at all, or to set the minimal allowed for them prices (at the moment this is about 1 US$ but this will change later) so that to expect not to exceed the Threshold and not to load on themselves other obligations, or to continue in this way (maybe even rising the prises if the books are bought). In case of exceeding the Threshold, though, or even if it is supposed that they
may exceed it (when receive money) they are bound to
publish each year information about the posthumous earnings of the Author and to whom they have sent the necessary sums from his part.
(3) (added in 2018) It remains only to be cleared the moment with establishing of the death of the Author, because being anonymous this may provide some complications. I propose the simplest: if for
more than one whole calender year I have been not logged at their cite (i.e. the current year is with 2, or more, higher than the year in which I have logged for last time), then they must try to get in touch with me, and if this turns to be impossible, then they are empowered to take that I am not more on this world and act according the previously said. More than this, any of my readers, having come to the suspicion that I may not be alive, but some Firm sells my works for higher than minimal prices, has the right to ask the Firm about my existence and to remind it that if I am not more alive it has to act in accordance with the Testament, and maybe lessen the prices (because my readers are interested in lower prices as possible). Let me add, though, that by this my special conditions in the Testament the Firms will in no way lose, but will rather gain, because they will have increased part of the profits from sellings (with 1/4 of the earning of the Author, according with Art. 3.(1)), plus satisfaction from doing some good deed, while otherwise they will, either send sums to accounts from where nobody can hold them, or keep the sums by themselves but not being officially allowed to use them. So that I am trying to pay attention to the interests of all parts.
Article 6. Not
Article 7. Not
Article 8. Not
Article 9. Closing remarks. (1) (added in 2018) As I have understood later, this my requiring that my works after my death belong to the people and not to some Firms or ancestors, stays close to the term "public property" (like, say, the works of Shakespeare), yet is
not exactly so, because I set some Threshold to which the Firms can win free, but if above it then they have to send something to some Recipients, and also I describe some circle or possible Recipients, including educational institutions, charity organizations, and some concrete persons, what is not the case with the public property works of art. Yet in broad outlines, looked according to the spirit of my creative Testament, my works become
nearly public property.
(2) Let this Testament serves as example for other authors, not only of literary works, but also of audio-visual things, or scientific works, if they define their own suitable Recipients. This is only justified for possible users of their creative works (because they will be, chiefly, free of payment), as well also for the Firms distributing them for money, because they will, i.e. they are obliged, to send the main part of their profit to various organizations, which need financing, not only to distant relatives, who have never seen eye in eye this person. This is example of justified testament for creative persons, whose creative works can easily be copied, but at the same time have to belong to all, not only to deft Firms which issue such works and pay nothing to nobody (because is not clear legally to whom and what to send).
Dec 2014