More on the Public Domain
Create like it’s 1790 align=”left” border=0> A first-timer at Thursday’s blog group sent me some interesting links about a group of people who are trying to increase the amount of material going into the public domain. The Eric Eldred Act Web site (which includes a blog about copyright law) came about as part of Eldred v. Ashcroft, a case that was hoping to find the recent Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act unconstitutional. It went before the Supreme Court this year and lost.
They suggest that after 50 years, people should pay a nominal fee, like $1, to extend their copyright protection. If they don’t pay the fee, the copyright on their material is not renewed. There’s even an online petition about it.
They argue strongly that corporate interests should not fuel copyright extensions, that corporate interests have clouded the original purpose of American copyright law: to promote the progress of science.
They also show how copyright law is backfiring. Instead of paying the copyrights on materials, people are switching to use other materials already in the public domain. Many works are neglected and forgotten because copyright clearance isn’t possible or copyright owners can’t be found. In these cases, copyright seems to be more of a barrier to use than a way to protect copyright holders.
