I think any discussion of copyright period reform needs data behind it. Specifically, there needs to be a chart showing annual revenue produced by 1 year old wo

I think any discussion of copyright period reform needs data behind it. Specifically, there needs to be a chart showing annual revenue produced by 1 year old works, two year old works, all the way out to works beyond the current limits. I presume this would show a dramatic drop off which varies by market. It will probably also show that long copyrights only benefit a vanishingly small fraction of content creators.[1] The problem will be that this data is unavailable to the public or government for most works. Therefore, the first legislative step needs to be a "Copyright Beneficiary Reporting Act". Any copyright holder which receives more than X ($1000?) in revenue from a work in a calendar year must report the revenue for that work. We can let that collect data for a few years and then make some informed decisions. ␄ [1] I think by and large these long term popular sellers, particularly in entertainment, should be thought of as lottery winners. The public, for whatever complicated reasons, fell in love with the work. Entertainment content creators are mostly just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. It is the public that chooses what is popular. If, as a content creator you hit the lottery and make a ton of money, great! That is what fuels the industry and provides the content, but you should recognize that the public is a huge part of that success and you aren't entitled to win the lottery continuously forever.