Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Russell
I think this is a fallacy to think that an author deserves protection for a lifetime. What is the fundamental reason that they should have more than even 5 years? The original purpose was to benefit society, not to protect the author. It was to encourage publication of books at a time when it was expensive to do so.
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Writing books, software, or whatever, is just as much "work" as creating "physical" things. Why ever shouldn't an author be able to continue to benefit from those efforts?
A "real world" example. I run a company writing computer software for amateur astronomers, which draws maps of the sky. I've spend more than 20 years of my life writing my software. If you had your way, five years after I'd initially released my software, it would have entered the public domain and anybody would have been free to take advantage of my work and use it free of charge! Can you explain why you believe that would be "fair"?