Law in the Information Society

In class on Wednesday, we referred to the political compromises that result in the legislative copyright regime. I also mentioned the extension of copyright term in the United States, and the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Eldred case, holding it to be constitutional. A similar Canadian example of the tinkering with copyright term is reported on by The Globe and Mail in a story about a bill, referred to as the Lucy Maud Montgomery copyright term extension bill, that would have extended the copyright term for unpublished work. The bill did not get through the legislative logjam before Prime Minister Chretien prorogued Parliament last week, and as a result, Montgomery's unpublished work will come into the public domain in 2004.

What is rather startling is that at one time, Canada provided for copyright in perpetuity for unpublished work. Given what you think copyright is all about, do you think it would be possible to justify extending the term of protection for unpublished work in the manner that had been proposed in this bill?