The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #16566   Message #157889
Posted By:
04-Jan-00 - 02:00 PM
Thread Name: 'Should auld copyrights be forgot ?'
Subject: RE: BS: 'Should auld copyrights be forgot ?'
I'd like to see a short absolute copyright period of 10 to 15 years, after which there be another 20 or 30 years with a limited copyright limitation, permitting not for profit use and suchlike.

Whether that ever happens depends on whether the people who stand to benefit from long restrictive copyright have more influence than the ones who stand to benefit from short and limited copyright. As so often it's a case of "they've got the money, but we've got the numbers".

At present the money wins out most of the time, because it's easier to bring the power of money to bear on judges and lawmakers than it is to bring the power of people, especially people who don't live in the USA. That can change however. It'll have to change, or we've all had it.