> I'd argue that copyright expiration is not at all about some imagined exchange of legal protections for .. the use of courts (since when is the use of courts

> I'd argue that copyright expiration is not at all about some imagined exchange of legal protections for .. the use of courts (since when is the use of courts treated as a privilege?) and is more about historical preservation Well, you're simply wrong on that score. The US Constitution empowers Congress to establish copyright laws thus: > To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries It's not about archeology, it's about promoting the development of new stuff. To that end, at some point it's better to free a work for others to build upon than to allow continued profiteering by the existing author/owner.