It’s one of the best days of the year, most every year. Happy Public Domain Day, all! “The Great Gatsby” and many more now enters the realm of works we can all (finally) legally build upon, without permission or fee.
It’ll be interesting what happens come 2024, when the first Mickey Mouse movie is to be freed up. In the meantime, imagine what could have been (the Mary Poppins movie!).
Artistic works should not remain locked away for nearly ever (imagine if Shakespeare’s works or the Bible were still under copyright). Copyright is meant to help motivate creative people. Extending copyright after the fact does not increase that motivation – it’s just rent seeking.