Quote:
Originally Posted by pwalker8
I have frequently said that the ideal copyright law would be that a book is only protected if it is available for purchase. That protects the public's rights, something that is normally ignored in these discussions, as well as the author's. Copyright is a contract, not property. That means there are obligations on both sides.
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My idea for copyright is that the rights holders should be required to renew it every few years, for a fee--e.g., after an initial fifty-year period, every fifteen years; perhaps with a grace period. That way, if the copyright holders consider a work still valuable, they can keep it out of the public domain, but authors and their estates can decide that they don't want to keep paying a fee for something that isn't benefiting them financially.