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Mr. Jones. Well, I can't think of a situation where it hasn't been worked out when this type of legacy
Mr. GrOODLATTE. But we have a limit. If you go back 10 generations, you might have 200 or more heirs who would then all be potentially, depending on how wills were written, and so on, have the right to make a decision.
Let me give you an example outside of this area. My wife's parents are both from Ireland and her father's father owns a beautiful little house that overlooks — it's in Galway and it overlooks Galway Bay and it's just absolutely fabulous. It sits there abandoned. It's a small two-room house. The view is worth a million dollars, but her grandfather had 10 children and they've had several children each, and we're not all that far down the line, but to figure out who owns that property and for somebody to take control of it and do something with it involves a huge legal task. So at some point in time it seems to me that having an indefinite and unlimited copyright right that's passed on forever creates these kind of entanglements that could stifle the use of something beautiful rather than promote it.
Mr. Jones. You're right, but it's a still a great concept. [Laughter.]
Mr. GrOODLATTE. Yes, well, 70 years won't do it. I support the legislation, but I would not support
Mr. Jones. If we can start with 70, add 20, it would be a good start.
Mr. GOODLATTE. We'll do it for 70 years plus your life, and you won't have to worry about it. [Laughter.]
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Jones. Thank you.
Mr. MOORHEAD. The gentleman from Michigan.
Mr. CONYERS. Thank you very much.
Quincy Jones, it's a pleasure to have you here and to listen to you, and I keep thinking about all the impact you've had on our music and our culture.
And what I'm thinking about is how we can build a system that encourages creativity, the creativity that you talk about and that has been referred to, to be so profuse in this country, because we're now in a time of cutbacks. Our cultural system is now being told that we don't need the National Endowment for the Arts; we don't need as much education programs. I hate to tell you this. Some have actually suggested abolishing the Department of Education, and education-wise we don't come up too high in industrialized countries of the world. We have a 25-percent rate of functional illiteracy among adults in this country. Millions of youngsters in this century could have added much to our country, had they had an opportunity to go to school and to go as far as their talents would carry them.
And so in a way, we need more cultural spokespersons to help us understand that you can't continue this stream of talent by reducing the Federal relationship to this. We have to have — particularly in my favorite arena, the jazz musicians have come through tremendous obstacles, the few that have made it. Many, as you know, go unnamed, unnoticed. There was no way they could take advantage of any royalties; that was out of the question.