Obviously you aren't artists who have seen your work exploited and distorted, without financial reward. You can sit back in your cumfy easy chairs and spout your assumptions about what should be what, but your experiences can't be considered equivalent to an artist who is being ripped off, or a son who is trying to protect the rights of his family. Of course not.
Somebody owns it.
That would be like asking if Doctor Zhivago was public domain. I fail to see the reasoning wherby you attempt to justify people ripping off K2's family with that question. In reading Nikolai's Public Statement, I never got the impression he thought he was God. Finally, I want to personally admonish those of you who have started selling Paganini bootlegs on Ebay. There's my bit.