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Originally Posted by Kitabi
My question is where does the figure of +50 or +70 or +95 come from? I can understand if someone says life + spouse's life or life + children's life but these numbers sound totally random in the absence of an explanation of how they were arrived at.
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My best guess is that it is vaguely related to expected life spans. They were also the result of gradual increases in copyright durations.
"Life + descendant" doesn't necessarily work, because copyrights can be assigned to estates, corporations and/or non-profits, which do not have a "lifespan" in any meaningful sense.
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Originally Posted by Kitabi
That analogy is incorrect. Social Security payouts come from taxes you paid "from your earnings"....
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You claim that income-bearing instruments are not inheritable, when clearly they are. There's quite a bit of latitude in what is inheritable.
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Originally Posted by Kitabi
Like what? In a lifetime + 70 scenario what exactly is the relevance of placing something in public domain except for historical study?
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All of Shakespeare's works are in the public domain. This allows anyone to use it as a resource, without concerns over licensing or permission.
A theater group can perform "Macbeth" at no cost; they can set it in Mughal India if they like; Tom Stoppard can write "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" without getting sued.
Issues with orphaned works (e.g. copyright is still in force, but the rights holder cannot be determined or located) also get resolved by works going into public domain.
The idea is that you balance out the benefits of copyright protection against the benefits of public domain, by offering copyright for a limited term.