'Copyright law was not designed originally to keep cash flow running for future generations of a creator’s family. The idea was always to preserve an incentive for creators to create.' Columnist hiltzikm explains:
Sherlock Holmes rescued from a dastardly foe: the copyright law
As Duke’s center observes, the first U.S. copyright law in 1790 established a term of 14 years, with copyright owners still living at the end of that period permitted to renew for another 14 years. The 1998 act didn’t apply only to new works created after its effective date, but to existing works poised to lose their copyright protections. As a result, the 1998 act in effect froze the movement of works into the public domain for 20 years. Under the old law, works created in 1926 would have lost their protection in 2002. Instead, they’re just coming into the public domain now.
in 1998, when the Sonny Bono Act was under consideration. “Even allowing for the optimism and self-confidence necessary in these creative and risky fields ... it is hard to imagine anyone intensifying their efforts on the expectation of their work being commercially viable beyond 75 years.”