Colleagues - This just popped over the wire . . .
Supremes Uphold Longer CopyrightsÂ
Associated Press Page 1 of 1
07:35 AM Jan. 15, 2003 PT
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld longstanding copyrights designed to protect the profits of songs, books and cartoon characters, a huge victory for Disney and other companies.
The 7-2 ruling, while not unexpected, was a blow to Internet publishers and others who wanted to make old books available online and use the likenesses of a Mickey Mouse cartoon and other old creations without paying high royalties.
The remainder of the story can be found at http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,57220,00.html This is lousy news. Eric Eldred, who sued the U.S. Attorney General, posts public domain texts to the 'Net and argued (rightly, I think) that the 1998 extension of U.S. copyrights, applied retroactively to existing works as well as to new works, was an unreasonable and unconstitutional expansion of copyright. Background on the case can be found at: http://eldred.cc/ The U.S. Supreme Court clearly is deferring to the U.S. Congress on this one -- depressing given the degree to which media giants are buying up representatives. The Internet is only as strong as its content. This ruling effectively halts the entry of texts from the 1920s-forward into the public domain. The case suggests that despite the ever-increasing speed and reach of the 'Net, U.S. media law will remain stubbornly sluggish and restrictive. I encourage you all to monitor your local representatives' votes and actions with respect to intellectual property policy, and to take steps which will ensure maximal public access (while, of course, fairly compensating creators). Sadly, John Logie Department of Rhetoric University of Minnesota