Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
Previously it has been argued that books no longer being available is a problem and so "public interest" is served by limiting the period of copyright. As I noted above, ebooks and print-on-demand are reducing the impact of the "out of print" argument. If the book remains available, what "public interest" still exists to remove copyright protection? (I'm not trying to argue for unlimited periods of copyright, I don't believe that is necessary, but it is difficult to see how the public actually benefits from removal of copyright (if the book remains available) other than getting their free-lunch if they're will to wait for it.)
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The public domain is not a "free lunch". That lunch was paid for by granting a copyright in the first place.