Quote:
Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash
The only problem is - how do you define publication? If you define "publish" as the first time it's committed to a tangible form? Then you're counting on being able to trace that specific date of creation. That's the advantage of the current system - death dates are a lot easier to figure out than "the first date he wrote that down on paper". If you define it as being released publicly, that's a whole 'nother thing because not all original works created get released publicly in any form.
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"Publication" is a well-defined concept. For example, in the EU we have the concept of a "typographical copyright" (which I don't think exists in the US). This is protection for a particular "layout" of a work, and has a non-extendable 25 year term from the date of initial publication.