[Dixielandjazz] Copyrights

[Bruce Stangeland]

Tom,

Thanks for your thoughts on ASCAP and its enforcement of copyrights.
I can't understand why the copyright laws should continue to be extended far
beyond the originally intended time period.

I used to work in research, and earned a number of patents. These only
lasted 17 years (or perhaps 20 now that we're getting in sync with the EU).

Why should a patented idea, which often takes years and sometimes millions
of dollars to develop get less protection than a song, which might have
taken a few days to write?

Bruce Stangeland