Re: Copyright Extension Bill Passes Congress

On Wed, 28 Oct 1998, Derric Oliver <doliver[_at_]jazz.fantasyjazz.com> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 27 Oct 1998, Terry Carroll <carroll[_at_]tjc.com> wrote:
> >
> > What did these heirs do to deserve compensation?
>
> They [heirs] did the exact same thing as recipients of any other assets
> that come their way by virtue of a will.

I hope others here will have noticed the circularity in the reasoning that supports this position. The heirs have something only by virtue of the fact that the law permits them to have it. They have no "justice" or "fairness" interest in it at all. The law allows some things to be inherited, and not other things (tort claims of the decedent, for example, which is why there are wrongful death laws). This leaves the policy question of whether heirs *should* inherit intellectual "property" completely open.

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