Quote:
Originally Posted by Nate the great
Why should the creator's family benefit? Will it encourage them to create more works?
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I'm OK with it if the term is based on a fixed length. IE, if the copyright is 20 years (or whatever your favorite number is), and the author dies before that, then the heirs can assume the copyright for the remainder of that length. If the author lives longer than the copyright, then there is no special consideration for the heirs. Whatever the author already earned can be passed on as part of the estate, just like for everyone else.
What I don't like is the copyright length automatically extending beyond the author's life just to provide an inheritance. IMO, there is no point to that and it has nothing to do with the intent of copyright. Copyright is not a life insurance policy.