Quote:
Originally Posted by Patricia
Ah, but suppose I put my life's savings into buying a house then renting it to tenants. It will generate an income when I'm dead. And my heirs have a right to the property and its income.
Alternative, if I put the savings into an income-generating account then my heirs are entitled to the cash and the interest.
An author could claim that a copyright represented something like the savings account or the house, perhaps?
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It's more analogous to what is called a "life estate." A life estate is a right to the use or enjoyment of property, but is not full ownership.
For instance, you could own a house that you inherited from your father, but your father gave your elderly mother the right to live there for twenty-five years, or till she dies, and if any of the 25 years were left over when she died, her second husband could stay out the term. (Your father was an understanding man.)
Your mother could not get a debt equity loan on the house, or sell it to anyone. You could do both of those things (but whoever bought the house couldn't turn your mother out.) You would also be liable for the property taxes, and your mother wouldn't.
An author is like your mother. She does not own the "house." Copyright gives her the right to occupy the house for a certain period of time, and if she dies, her second husband can inherit that right if the time period hasn't expired.
You (i.e., society) actually own the house. Eventually it falls into your hands and you sell it to a condo developer for big bucks...