It's a good question to ask as a thought exercise, especially since so many vested interests don't want you to think about it, and try to condition you not to q

It's a good question to ask as a thought exercise, especially since so many vested interests don't want you to think about it, and try to condition you not to question it. I think the concept of copyright law is good in lots of ways, but the current copyright laws in the USA are pretty awful. It was originally 20 years, now it's 90+. Lots of old works are being lost or having access denied because they're still under copyright, but nobody is publishing them. Also related: "the war on sharing" https://stallman.org/articles/end-war-on-sharing.html https://stallman.org/articles/end-war-on-sharing.html