Fighting Copyright Extension
Posted in Library on October 15th 2002 by Randy ReichardtLawrence Lessig, a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, is currently leading a constitutional challenge of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, which when passed, extended existing and future copyrights in the USA by 20 years. The campaign is called Free the Mouse, after Mickey Mouse – Disney’s original copyright on Mickey Mouse expires in 2003. Lessig is arguing against the continual extension of copyright in the USA, which has happened 11 times in the past 40 years. The argument is that it prevents the flow of creative material into the public domain. There is much more to it, and the essential details are here.
Lessig has lost this case twice, and is now presenting to the US Supreme Court. The October 10th Economist features an update on Lessig’s fight to reduce copyright protection.
The copyright issue is a tough one – as a librarian and musician, I can see both sides. When I copy an article 135 times for a class I’m teaching, I complete a log so that proper payment gets made (often not to the author, however). As a musician, I support downloading of music, but not for resale. I don’t believe this makes me a hypocrite – musicians like Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, who led the charge that brought down Napster, have not suffered greatly from downloading. Those that have suffered need to look in the mirror, and question the quality of their product before blaming the web.
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