I don't know what time is reasonable, but I think there has to be a deadline at some point.
I'm trying to argue that if after a finite X amount of time the work falls into the public domain, then very likely nobody will make very much profit from that work in its unmodified original form at all, unless they provide some sort of service that is of value.
Also it opens new opportunities for _everybody_ to build upon the previous work with a unique and good fresh idea, which they can then try to market.
The original author had their fair chance to make money and monetise their idea to the best of their ability. Now let's find out what other people can create from it.
Copyright could be separated into multiple tiers that expire over time. First all rights reserved, then CC-BY-NC after 20, then CC-BY-SA with moral rights to protect living authors' reputations, then CC-BY, then CC-0.
I'm trying to argue that if after a finite X amount of time the work falls into the public domain, then very likely nobody will make very much profit from that work in its unmodified original form at all, unless they provide some sort of service that is of value.
Also it opens new opportunities for _everybody_ to build upon the previous work with a unique and good fresh idea, which they can then try to market.
The original author had their fair chance to make money and monetise their idea to the best of their ability. Now let's find out what other people can create from it.