Sure - the original 'bargain' around copyright (between printers and the King) was that copyright, an unnatural monopoly right, would be granted for a fixed per

Sure - the original 'bargain' around copyright (between printers and the King) was that copyright, an unnatural monopoly right, would be granted for a fixed period of time and then would revert to the public domain (remember this was at a time when there was only the public domain, if you wanted a copy of something you paid someone to do it for you, printing changed all that). The big problem with the recent changes is that a deal where you cede a right for a period of time and then get to enjoy it later in your life is moot when everyone who is party to the first part (ie society) is dead when the second part occurs