Pull quote from p. 193-194: “The decision to switch to a term of life of the author plus fifty years in 1978 (now life plus seventy years) and to abandon the notice and renewal requirements were bad decisions that destroyed the ability of copyright to function effectively. Short of contacting each author about each work, there is no longer a way to determine which works the author desires to protect and which works he, she, or it (in the case of companies) doesn’t wish to protect: All works must be treated as under protection, requiring permission before use. While there have been calls for a compulsory license or limitations on remedies after a diligent but unsuccessful search is undertaken for the owner of an orphan work, the suggestions so far are ridiculously limited in scope. they are nibbling at the edges without solving the real problem: There is no way to fix the orphan works problem, or the larger system of copyright, without reversing the unduly long term of protection and without restoring formalities that prevent the creation of orphan works in the first place. An overly long term of copyright and the lack of formalities are the real problem, and unless we deal with them, we are doing nothing of consequence.”
