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> Imagine all rival record companies being able to press a work the moment the original author dies. What's wrong with that? Isn't capitalism about free compet

• Tycho 16y ago
  I think you missed my point which was that publishers will never make an initial investment if they feel it has no protection (or at least they will make less investment for less protection, which will eventually feedback to the artists investing less of their time for less reward). Furthermore, scouting for talent is one of the primary ways in which publishing businesses 'freely compete.'
  • greyfade 16y ago
    But publishers, prior to local Copyright laws, were more than willing to make hefty investments, even without protection. In fact, they competed to make the best offer to artists and authors. Read the book "Against Intellectual Monopoly." It details cases like this and more. See also links posted by others here, which detail similar cases.