Quote:
Originally Posted by Manabi
Copyright wasn't automatic in 1966. The 1976 Copyright Act changed this, and as of January 1, 1978, copyright is automatic. So in 1966, all the notes you took, letters you wrote, etc. would only have been protected by copyright if you specifically sought to get them copyrighted. The same went for photographs, home movies, etc. Copyright has expanded in other ways too. For example, architectural works weren't copyrightable in the US until 1990.
Combine with the greatly extended duration of copyright now and you have both a lot more stuff being copyrighted today and for significantly longer periods of time. Also, prior to 1976, copyright required you to renew it after 28 years to receive an additional 28 years of protection. But the reality was, not many people bothered to renew:
The stats there are from William Patry's book, Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars. |
Yep, if I were emperor I would move it back to 28 years and then you can renew every 28 years for life of the author. That would handle all except a handful of cases. If the author was still making money, he or she could simply renew. If they were not, then they wouldn't bother. The only real sticking point would be the Mouse and the Tolkien estate, both of which are still making money roughly 50 years after the author's death (1966 for Disney, 1973 for Tolkien).