I'm not sure he was talking about copyright -- if I scan (or manually reproduce) something in the public domain, I of course own that copy and can do with it as I please.
I just can't go and prevent other people from copying my copy.
I just can't go and prevent other people from copying my copy.
What about digital restoration, which often includes reconstruction of missing parts of the document? What if you do significant work to uncover a document hidden within a layer, as is the case with the Archimedes Palimpsest? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes_Palimpsest)
I'm not making the argument that such images ought never to be available freely to the public. All I'm saying is that the terms of release ought to be up to the individual or institution that's doing the work, and that it's the government's job to protect that right.