[Pulpmeister]

Ten years is enough. If the book is going gangbusters, it's an incentive for the publishers to make sure their dealing with the author is favourable enough for the author to renew, otherwise they deserve to lose the book. On the other hand, if a book is more or less abandoned and lingers in limbo, the author ought to get copyright back as a matter of right, and find a better home for it.

My own few publishing contracts gave full rights back to me when the books went out of print, which two have so far. Those two have been republished by me in digital form. The third is still in print, though getting to the end of its life (the publisher does not remainder), so a digital edition by me, or a third party e-publisher, is now becoming a possibility in the not too distant future.

The idea that the publishers of these books should retain publishing rights for thne rest of my life, PLUS, is a horrifying idea. Absolutely no way.