I am a believer in free enterprise. I am a believer in Intellectual Property.
I am a believer in the principle of copyright, as laid out in the Constitution. Individuals, and corporations, that put time and effort into creating something, have a right to the fruits of that labor.
But in the current case of Eldred v. Ashcroft, being argued today before the US Supreme Court, it’s clear to me that Congress, even though they have the power to set the length of copyright, have, by continuing to extend and extend and extend that period, gone far beyond the Constitutional “limited” description.
Under current law, as last amended in 1998, works remain in copyright for 70 years after the death of the creator, or, for works owned by a corporation, for 95 years.
By Congress’ way of thinking — and Disney and AOL Time Warner — nearly a century is “limited.” And that’s assuming that Congress doesn’t extend it again. And again. And again.
Copyright was meant to ensure that someone didn’t create something, only to have others immediately exploit it without providing the creator any benefit. It was not meant to provide a perpetual cash cow to the creator and their heirs (and their heirs).
AOL Time Warner said if the extension were struck down, it would threaten copyrights for some of its movies, including “Casablanca,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone With the Wind.”
Jeez. How unfair. After all, it’s not like AOL Time Warner has ever made any money off of those works. (Actually, given Hollywood accounting practices, they are all probably officially still in the red. But that’s another matter.)
Imagine if only one publisher could print copies of Shakespeare. Imagine if “The Star-Spangled Banner” were still copyrighted and required royalties to play it. Imagine if the Mona Lisa could only be reproduced by authorized distributors.
The idea of media corporations owning such works in perpetuity — effectively what is happening now — is unprecedented since the High Priests restricted reading and writing to themselves. The crocodile tears of Disney and AOLTW are not convincing to me. The “loss of revenue” they claim is countered by the wealth the public will gain as these works become available, and other works can be derived from them. If “Steamboat Willy” is an icon, a classic, it is part of society, and society ought to own it by now, not Disney.