If you didn't already know it, I am strongly against the grasp and length of modern copyright law. I recommend Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig as a good read and have recently picked up another book that seems to be somewhat like-minded. It's called arts, inc.: How Greed and Neglect Have Destroyed Our Cultural Rights by Bill Ivey. I've only read the preface so far...but a few mentionable quotes to share...
Steven Pearlstein, writing in the Washington Post, argues that the term of copyright protection has been extended "well beyond what is reasonably required to meet the aim of encouraging artistic creation."
"Our scattershot cultural policy has failed to balance the public interest with the marketplace. It is time to establish a new set of goals designed to reclaim art and culture for the American people; it is time to assert the rights of citizens to the multiple benefits of an arts system turned to public purposes."
