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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Planesdragon" data-source="post: 1013979" data-attributes="member: 11133">There are two major and one minor problem with that, Sigil.Firstly, scholoary research already has a Fair Use exemption.  If I want to write a piece on the history of cartoons, I don't need to pay Disney or get their permission to mention, describe, or even sample Steamboat Willie.Secondly, most copyright violations are torts, not crimes.  If the copyright holder never comes up and punishes the offender, then no foul can be called.  As for criminal copyright, a reasonable search for the copyright holder followed by holding the equivalent royalty payments in escrow would probably help proof against criminal behavior.  (If the copyright holder ever does surface, they can just demand the ceasation of the printing and get their money.)Thirdly and minorly, copyright won't get extended to an unlimited term.  While a tangential case for twice the mean lifespan of the author could be made*, there's not enough political support to extend copyright so long that people the author never knew or met could inherit the copyright.*: The author already has their lifespan, and being able to pass the work on to their spouse or children is a clearly moral law.</blockquote>