Items that did
not enter the U.S. public domain yesterday:
[Click to enlarge]
On the plus side for the American posters, you'll only have to wait until 2019 before items begin entering the public domain (well, 2056 for the above pictured items)! While that might seem like a long time to wait, take comfort in the fact that the American copyright system is protecting important works from the public that the creators have, in most cases, long since stopped caring about.
Duke Law puts the situation this way:
Quote:
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Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the current copyright term is that in most cases, the cultural harm is not offset by any benefit to an author or rights holder. Unlike the famous works highlighted here, the vast majority of works from 1956 do not retain commercial value.3 This means that no one is benefiting from continued copyright, while the works remain both commercially unavailable and culturally off limits. The public loses the possibility of meaningful access for no good reason.
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