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Originally Posted by Kitabi
I did not say income bearing instruments are not inheritable. I did question whether copyright should be seen in such a light.
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I don't see why not.
If I start a company from scratch, it's inheritable. If I hold any patents, those are also inheritable.
Nor does the standard of "what the working stiff has to pass on" really seem viable. A billionaire is obviously going to have a very different portfolio than a janitor, who will have a different portfolio than a fine artist. The law needs to recognize that different people have different classes of assets.
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Originally Posted by Kitabi
And they would pay a royalty and perform it anyway if the work was popular and not in public domain. Same goes for referencing a work in a book.
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Actually, a copyright holder can bar performances, derivative works and unauthorized. When a work is in public domain, there are no longer any restrictions.
Go to Project Gutenberg and you may get an idea of one set of benefits of public domain.
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Originally Posted by Kitabi
If the heirs see such an eventuality, they are free to sell off their rights. If no heirs exist, a time limit for claiming rights should exist. After that, there are no options left...
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You're missing the point.
Officially an orphaned work is in limbo, because no one knows who really owns it. So if no heirs exist, the book is officially inaccessible. By going into public domain, it can be accessed by anyone. Problem solved.