zlacker

> This; the old books still exist. No one is coming for them.

Sure, and beyond that, my point was, if copyright deposit is working, there are copies in public hands, specifically for the purpose of preservation and availability beyond the expiration of exclusive rights, not just old books in private collectors hands.

>>dragon+(OP)
I wish the law said something like "once you start selling copies of a copyrighted work to the public, if you ever stop, you forfeit the remaining term of your copyright". This would not only fix this problem, but also a lot of scummy artificial scarcity practices.