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Originally Posted by zerospinboson
I never really got this.. How many of the people who are "on their death bed", yet are still able to compose/write/blabla, don't just do it because they want to be remembered by whatever it is they're trying to finish? If they're really that driven, I don't really think that a financial incentive matters all that much....
Reading works by geriatrics with overly inflated egos is usually more painful than interesting.
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Not so much "on one's deathbed," but if you know copyright expires at death, and you care about leaving as much as possible to your heirs, why not let one of them copyright it? Or co-copyright under both names, even if the other person contributed nothing, in order to allow them the full income? (This is possible now; it's legal to hand over copyright to anyone you like. However, with a system of copyright-ends-at-death, it might become illegal to create this kind of "dodge.")
There's something wrong with a system that rewards inaccuracy, or discourages wide publication efforts because there's no reward involved.
What about collections of unpublished works--who owns copyright on those? If an author would like to have his memoirs finished by his wife and published posthumously, can anyone grab the book and republish it without her intro & final chapter?
If copyright ends at "death of author," does that mean corporate copyrights are no longer permitted? Or they last until dissolution of the corporation, or a set amount of years, giving them a severe economic advantage over many authors?
I'll grant that a lot of popular authors produce schlock, and the schlock doesn't get better as they age. But that doesn't mean they all do, nor that it's a good idea to remove incentives for them to publish later in life. Part of the encouragement provided by copyright law is the awareness that one's efforts can benefit one's heirs.
I'm also not seeing the good in copyright vanishing overnight for authors, composers or songwriters who are victims of murders or accidents. And I really,
really don't want any incentives for insane criminal fanatic behavior... "I'll knock off the lead singer of MegaBand 'cos he wrote all their songs, and then everyone can download their music for free! I'll go to prison, but The Music Will Live On!!!"