Yes, the law seems to keep extending copyright, mainly for the benefit of corporations such as Disney (who actually used PD songs in their early productions so they wouldn't have to pay royalties) and are really more into extending copyright to preserve the Mouse as their own more than anything (to wit, the Sonny Bono law that extended copyright an additional twenty years).

Public Domain is where creativity and musical derivation flourishes. So I don't understand why we have a system based on the death of a composer rather than a specific period. If you write a song (presumably a hit that others would like to work with) at age 18 and live to be 100, your song remains in in copyright I believe it is now 90 years after death for a period total of 172 years (9 generations hence or until the year 2190 if done today). Contrast that with a patent for 17 years renewable once). Imagine where our technology would be if people could sit on their patents for 150 years just waiting for the highest bidder to buy them out. Think where classical music would be if just now it was entering the public domain.

The law is the law, and I respect that, but it is really designed for the rich to preserve their riches, not for the regular musician in the creation and variation of music. I'm all for the composer and his family making a buck, but my great grandchildren won't keep getting my retirement pay just because I earned while alive. No, they get a one-time payout (my inheritance). And most songs, I'd guess 99 point something percent, fall into obscurity never to be heard or re-experienced again for the sake of a few people's cash cows. Derivative work is why we have much of the wonderful music we have today, because copyright was not previously for essentially an eternity.

My $0.02 worth. You don't have to agree and please, no flames, just disagree.

John

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