In the court case over whether anyone could use Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes without paying a fee, Judge Posner argued that the first Sherlock Holmes story was written in 1887, so allowing the author's descendants to continue to claim a copyright to the character raised the possibility of "perpetual, or at least nearly perpetual, copyright." The judge also noted that the U.S. Constitution had given Congress the authority to grant copyright for only a limited time. What would be the disadvantages to the economy of allowing an author and his or her descendants to have a copyright forever on a book or character? Would there be any advantages? Briefly explain.