My theory is that after a work is published commercially with the intent to make money, if it isn't republished in a similar manner within 10 years, it likely doesn't have a commercial value (i.e. produces revenue) and should pass into public domain.
I'm tired of stuff (books, movies, art, etc.) going out of print and unavailable, and if someone dares use it and happens to make money, then the copyright lawyers are unleashed on them by the copyright holder. If the copyright holder didn't think the IP was worth enough to bother making it available for sale, then essentially they abandoned it.
Oh, and if they make "re-imaginings" that have little resemblance to the original, the original instantly goes into public domain because the copyright holder has deemed it obsolete. This is the Battlestar Galactica corollary of my theory.
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I'm tired of stuff (books, movies, art, etc.) going out of print and unavailable, and if someone dares use it and happens to make money, then the copyright lawyers are unleashed on them by the copyright holder. If the copyright holder didn't think the IP was worth enough to bother making it available for sale, then essentially they abandoned it.
Oh, and if they make "re-imaginings" that have little resemblance to the original, the original instantly goes into public domain because the copyright holder has deemed it obsolete. This is the Battlestar Galactica corollary of my theory.