Quote:
Originally Posted by lumpynose
Could you explain that about the Tolkien estate? I've been assuming that books that are being kept copyrighted by the heirs are that way in the hopes of making money from movie, tv, etc. deals.
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No books are being kept copyrighted by the heirs.
In almost all the world, copyright is automatic, and the term is determined by the date the author dies. The US has a peculiar system which was replaced some years ago with a simple life+70 like most places, but the older copyright rules are still in place for works created before the rule change.
Copyright should indeed be shorter, but it's mostly publishing companies that have pushed for copyright extensions, not author or the heirs of authors.
The best that can be realistically hoped for is a return to life+50, which is the minimum required by the Berne Copyright Convention.
Ideally, I'd like to see (lifetime of author) or (50 years from publication), whichever is longer. But that's never going to happen.