Larry Niven's Altair

Sure, I understand. Paul Allen might get a personal kick out of it. My experience with the world of music publishing is somewhat related, however. Pretty much in the USA, if a copyright was renewed and made it to 1978, it has a lifetime of 95 years, until the US Congress extends that to 120-150 years. (The US Supreme Court has held that creating copyrights that never expire (i.e. copyright in perpetuity) is not constitutional, it has held that there is not a specific upper limit to copyright duration. Nor is it necessary that one possess an actual copy of the material under copyright protection. Consider Warner Bros., owner of the copyright to "Happy Birthday to you". The authors of the ditty had both been long dead when Warner acquired the copyright--and it brings in about $2 million a year. (There reportedly has been discovered a 1922 book with the words and music, which, by copyright terms then in force, would render Happy Birthday to be in the public domain.) Indeed, I've been contacted by an author for a copy of his own software to be licensed to another party, as he'd lost the code several years back. (Yes, I purchased a license way back when). Unlike patents and trademarks, it's not necessary for the copyright holder to prosecute every infringement brought to his attention. He can simply select the deepest pockets. I've tried to get permission to arrange a work written in 1917, but not published until 1969 and been refused (and not politely). Of course, the author had already been dead in 1969... --Chuck