I don't know whether the copyright period should be 14 years or forever. But what really pisses me off is that the new copyright period is always applied retro

I don't know whether the copyright period should be 14 years or forever. But what really pisses me off is that the new copyright period is always applied retrospectively. By extending the copyright retrospectively the government is giving wealth to the copyright-holders by taking it away from the non-copyright-holders. When Walt Disney made Snow White in 1937 the copyright period was 56 years. That means he implicitly agreed to a contract with the public that said, "Mr Disney will get an exclusive right to publish and distribute this movie for 56 years, after which time anyone can do it". Like any contact that is freely entered into, it should not be altered. Arbitrarily extending the exclusivity period on this contract is just as wrong as reducing it. If the government reduces company tax rates, does it refund companies that have paid the higher rate in previous years? No. You want to make copyright last for 100 years? Fine, but it should only apply to works which are created from now on.