Quote:That is not actually when copyright starts.
That is when the clock starts ticking, if you can prove a work belongs to you and someone else just started publishing it you get the protection of copyright, for 5 years from that date.
Quote:Unless your dad is paying a steady licensing fee for his CAD program it hardly matters.
it matters once a 10'000$ piece of software gets competition from a 10$ earlier version.
Think about how badly vista would be doing if it actually had to compete with WinXP. As for operating systems lasting longer XP lasted a very long time, usually Microsoft ships a new version every 2-3 years. (see 95-98-me-xp and now vista-Win7)
Quote:I was using it in the same way that "life without parole" is used. So roughly "25 years with option to extend".
Ah but from your earlier comments I gather that it does end at death regardless. giving it a limited number of years or until death is a vast improvement because it lowers the variability but it still has the problem of perhaps just lasting minutes and therefore discouraging investment. The current Berne convention requires at least life+50 years as copyright term, but gets around the variability with a fixed 50 year term. How long the author will live is not a factor because no-one cares about possible revenue 50 years into the future. 50 years ago the beatles didn't even exist yet, and of all the contemporary bands of the beetles how many are still being produced? Not many because it's usually not worth it, a clear sign that the copyright is too long.
If you mean to say that copyright should last 28 years with an option to extend (like it was in the 1920's) then it is a much harder position to attack. It's a lot more reasonable, though the copyright act of 1790 was closer with a time of 14 years plus a possible 14 year extension. now i will grant that probably not as many books where written under the 1790 copyright act as have been under the current copyright act, but I believe that has more to do with other factors, like population, literacy rate, the overall economy, etc.
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."