# Will they ever let copyright expire?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-they-ever-let-copyright-expire/156291>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [February 20, 2003, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-they-ever-let-copyright-expire/156291 "2003-02-20T07:45:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-they-ever-let-copyright-expire/156291/41 "2003-02-26T22:46:49Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by jeevmon_  
> **But the point about “The Matrix” brings up an interesting angle - I wonder if the investment would have been made in those movies with truly groundbreaking special effects if there weren’t a lengthier copyright regime in place to help protect return on investment.**

One more response to this point… _[Metropolis](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0017136)_ was one of the most expensive movies ever made at the time (5,000,000 German marks in 1926). The effects were just as groundbreaking as those in _The Matrix_:

> [@](#):
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> [Review by Ted Prigge](http://us.imdb.com/Reviews/98/9847)  
> One of the many amazing things about this flick is how innovative it is. The special effects are surprisingly good for a film made in 1926, with a couple realistic-looking explosions, a robot that moves believably, and a set which looks absolutely stunning (with buildings reaching up as far as the eye can see, although the flying cars are just usual planes).

And yet, _Metropolis_ was created without the expectation of a century’s worth of profit, or eternal control over the use of the film. It fell into the public domain and has been re-released several times (of varying quality), with the [definitive version](http://www.filmthreat.com/Interviews.asp?Id=391) due to arrive in theaters and on DVD this year.

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**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-they-ever-let-copyright-expire/156291/42 "2003-02-26T23:19:23Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by jeevmon \*  
> \*\*  
> If we were talking about a _new_ law, I might support life plus 25 or life plus 30. \*\*

Make it life plus 20 or 21. For the sake of young law students everywhere, I dont’ want some guy transferring his intellectual property rights to become a “rule against perpetuities” issue ☹

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