Was it really bit by bit? In most of the world, the Berne convention - signed in 1886 - implemented a copyright length of author&#x27;s life + 50 years. This was a massive leap for most countries.<p>Even in the US, the people behind the Sonny Bono Act (aka Mickey Mouse Protection Act) proposed <i>indefinite</i> copyright - MPAA&#x27;s Jack Valenti actually suggested &quot;forever less one day&quot; to avoid the Constitutional restriction! The life + 50 years was the compromise they could reach.