Copyrights have not expired, and will not expire, so long as Congress is free to be bought to extend them again.
Lawrence LessigCopyright law has got to give up its obsession with 'the copy.' The law should not regulate 'copies' or 'modern reproductions' on their own. It should instead regulate uses--like public distributions of copies of copyrighted work--that connect directly to the economic incentive copyright law was intended to foster.
Lawrence LessigCreativity is enhanced by less-than-perfect control over what content is on the network.
Lawrence Lessig