Some Slashdotter points in the right direction—Zombie Property Rights:
But you do understand that the copyright law’s intent is to encourage the creation of new works. With life plus 50 years, there are untold numbers of authors dead only 10 or 20 years who might be willing to rise and take a crack at just one more novel.
Hollywood’s penchant for exhuming franchises—instead of, say, creating new things—means that its favorite zombies (Jason, Freddy Krueger, Damien, etc) aren’t just a great metaphor for another industry gone to pot. They’re the new heroes of a permanent Rotten Age of Literature.