Quote:
Originally Posted by TuxGirl
Neither.
I think that copyright should be automatic for a short length of time (around 10-20 years), then be renewable in perpetuity (perhaps with something like 20$ per renewal, renewing every 5 years). This would require a searchable database, but it could all be handled easily online... So, orphan works would drop out of copyright quickly, allowing them to not be lost permanently, but Disney could keep Mickey Mouse copyrighted forever (since Mickey Mouse is the reason why copyright terms keep getting longer and longer and longer). Honestly, 20$/5 years is way less than Disney spends currently to keep Mickey under copyright, so I can't imagine who wouldn't like this idea...
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Or maybe the law should be that any work not available for sale for a set period of time enters the public domain automatically. There are evidently many works that aren't orphaned, but aren't available because there's no profit in it for the owners. And this would obviate the need for registration.