Considering how much culture seems to have accelerated (via mass media, long distance communication and so on), it would seem obvious that if 28 years was enough back then, it should be more than enough today.
The only thing the current copyright length is helping with, is establishing and perpetuating monopolist corporations. It's killing innovation and cementing the status quo. Even from a market standpoint this is a bad idea -- not to mention what it looks like from a social standpoint.
It's anti-capitalist and extremely un-American, really. Speaking as a "socialist" European.
Early America, not unlike China today, was extremely hostile to the idea of "intellectual property". Patents and copyrights made it difficult for domestic producers to compete with established companies from Europe.
Brushing all those concerns aside made it a lot easier for companies to produce whatever goods and services were necessary for the local population. Instead of having to pay royalties to a company overseas for having "invented" something, which to people who'd fought for independence from that sort of tyranny, would probably seem absurd.
The only thing the current copyright length is helping with, is establishing and perpetuating monopolist corporations. It's killing innovation and cementing the status quo. Even from a market standpoint this is a bad idea -- not to mention what it looks like from a social standpoint.
It's anti-capitalist and extremely un-American, really. Speaking as a "socialist" European.