In the U.S., and many other countries, copyright protection lasts until the death of the creator plus 70 years. In 2014, creators who died in 1943 fall into the public domain. Some of those creators include author Beatrix Potter, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Nikola Tesla, Simone Weil, Radclyffe Hall, and Max Wertheimer.


As the knowledge-based economy expands, the companies and individuals that possess intangible intellectual assets, such as intellectual property, will need specialized expertise, strategic thinking, legal experience, and the wisdom necessary to manage intellectual assets.