To copyright lawyers:

[JohnClay]

Exapno Mapcase:

http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap3.html#304

304. Duration of copyright: Subsisting copyrights
     (a) Copyrights in Their First Term on January 1, 1978. —
     (1)(A) Any copyright, in the first term of which is subsisting on January 1, 1978, shall endure for 28 years from the date it was originally secured.
     …
     © In the case of any other copyrighted work, including a contribution by an individual author to a periodical or to a cyclopedic or other composite work —

(i) the author of such work, if the author is still living,

(ii) the widow, widower, or children of the author, if the author is not living,

(iii) the author’s executors, if such author, widow, widower, or children are not living, or

(iv) the author’s next of kin, in the absence of a will of the author, shall be entitled to a renewal and extension of the copyright in such work for a further term of 67 years.

Also see section (4)©(1-2)
[/quote]

i.e. it seems that even if a copyright owner didn’t leave a will, their stuff doesn’t go into the public domain.

Also, here’s some stuff from that Supreme Court case… I think Eldred was with some Harvard-trained lawyers…
http://www.uiowa.edu/~cyberlaw/writing/eldred.html#Who%20Cares?

…Next worst case: the copyright owner cannot be found. The original creator has died or can’t be traced. Or the original corporate copyright holder has been merged and spun off so many times that the current parent corporation doesn’t even employ anyone who knows anything about the property…

Those lawyers would presumably know what they’re talking about.

Perhaps the clearest most authoritative quote…
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#toc

…Under the previous law, the copyright in a work reverted to the author, if living, or if the author was not living, to other specified beneficiaries, provided a renewal claim was registered in the 28th year of the original term.* The present law drops the renewal feature except for works already in the first term of statutory protection when the present law took effect. Instead, the present law permits termination of a grant of rights after 35 years under certain conditions by serving written notice on the transferee within specified time limits.

*The copyright in works eligible for renewal on or after June 26, 1992, will vest in the name of the renewal claimant on the effective date of any renewal registration made during the 28th year of the original term. Otherwise, the renewal copyright will vest in the party entitled to claim renewal as of December 31st of the 28th year…

Anyway, it doesn’t look like the copyrights of authors without wills go into the public domain.

[JohnClay]

Sorry thread should be deleted (this was a reply to another thread)