Quote - Good.

I'm all for it.

Because someone else, that was completely uninvolved with the creation of something, and someone that has shown no interest in the artwork for 50 years.

Should not be able to come along and suddenly sue, someone else for using something, 100 years after the person that made the art in the first place, has died.

Especially if the person using the art, is a teacher etc....

As it stands right now, that can and does happen.

Daidalos

After dealing with some very old photos of our area I would agree with you to a point (and only the aged photo/restoration point).  Earlier I read, I think one of Ariana's posts, where copyright laws could be written to allow old photo restoration, etc without endangering more current works and giving the violators an out.   The problem with this bill as it stands is the change from your work being automatically protected under copyright laws to automatically orphaned unless you pay to register it.   It doesn't just affect old images where the photographer/artist is no longer around but affects anything you upload to any online gallery. 
Reading of and experiencing companies who use the internet for searching for materials and this will become a nightmare for some. 

It wont be large companies who have a lot to lose if they use copyrighted work who encroach on anything you upload to your online gallery.  It will be little companies who routinely encroach.  At the trade show we go to every year there are hundreds of little companies selling images on mugs, t-shirts, magnets, key chains, (anything you can put an image on) etc and they will freely  admit they search the internet for their images.  (my husband didn't understand when I walked away from one guy, mid-order)

These types will not change their habits no matter what the laws state but this bill could give them a legal out if they use artwork that is not easily recognized. 

...... Kendra