Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
But, with the very greatest respect, neither is the purpose of copyright to force everything that is written to be published. I have the absolute right to write material and choose not to have it published - at least until 70 years after my death, when it becomes public property. I would personally not wish to see that changed.
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I agree with much of that, and thought that my second paragraph about private diaries and letters made that clear.
I don't think that anyone should be forced to publish, and I don't think that coyright law has that effect or purpose.
I just don't think that someone who does not publish should be able to rely on copyright law to protect that desire. Copyright law should protect anything offered for publication. If it's not offered for publication, perhaps some other reason exists to protect it from being copied. Perhaps the unauthorized publication of material never intended for publication should be a criminal offense.
Of course, there is a difference between "ought" and "does," and in this case, copyright law generally "does" protect what you want it to.