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One one hand, long default copyrights seem silly. Why is there an automatic protection? I don't get that if I come up with a new design concept. I have to patent that, or I get no protection if someone else copies it.
On the other hand, why should the public have any right to read someone else's work that the author - or their family if they formally inherited the work - wants to keep private?
I believe that an author should have to "claim copyright". Officially register it in some manner. Like a patent. And also officially register it as a directed inheritance if they want the copyright to pass down to their family. Just like what wills and trusts are used for today. If the author fails to stake their claim as suggested, well, that was a bad decision on their part. But if they DID state their claim, it's their work and they should be able to keep others from it, basically forever, if they put it into a trust or other legal vehicle to keep it private.
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