Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
So, if you build a house, the government should take it away from you after 28 years? If you start a business, the government should take it away from you after 28 years? If you buy shares in a company, those shares should disappear after 28 years?
Why should copyright be different?  |
Copyright is different for many reasons, but in the main it's because copyright is a grant of a monopoly by the government.
The expiration of copyright doesn't stop the (ex-)copyright holder doing anything. In particular, The government won't stop them selling the out-of-copyright material book when the copyright expires.
Creating is hard and expensive. Copying is easy and cheap. Copyright law should be a balance between the two to bring the greatest benefit to society.