i spent the last two years writing a book. My wife had to work two jobs to keep the family alive, because I had no income. The book company tells me they will sell millions, due to my enormous talent, so all the hard work will pay off. Just before it is released, I'm hit by a bus.
Now give me a reasonable argument why my family should starve.
Give me a reasonable argument why this woman's http://www.people.com/article/86-woman-romance-novel-author book should have a much shorter copyright duration than that of a younger author.
Personally, I cannot see why the copyright duration should have anything to do with the lifespan of an author. As an example, I just recently read about a book that was half finished when the author found out that his throat cancer had returned, and he found someone else to complete it. So how long should the copyright be if the guy dies (and I sincerely hope he doesn't), with two authors? And why should his family get extra punishment on top by having their income disappear at a time when they need it most?
I'd say the only reasonable thing is time of publication, plus X years, and we can argue all day long what the number X should be. If Steve Jobs had written his own biography, why should the copyright run out before Isaacson's Jobs biography? If they were published on the same day, copyright should run out on the same day.
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