does Copyright on source files expire ?

[Erik Trulsson]

On Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 09:47:22AM +0100, Luigi Rizzo wrote:
> Someone just asked me permission to move to a 3-clause BSD
> copyright some piece of software that I haven't touched in 10+ years.
> 
> I said yes, but then I was wondering what happens if the
> person listed is not responding or not reachable anymore:
> does copyright on source code expire, and if so, when ?

Yes, it will expire eventually, after a long time.
The exact length of copyright can vary a bit between different countries,
but in most places nowadays I think it is 'life of author plus 70 years'

> (I suppose it is related to either the date listed on the copyright,
> or to the date of some remarkable event for the author).
> 

-- 
<Insert your favourite quote here.>
Erik Trulsson
ertr1013 at student.uu.se