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June 15, 2003
The Diminishing Public Domain
Speaking of copyright, here's a disturbing graph that indicates the number of creative works that have been prevented from entering the public domain by changes in copryight law over the last 30 years. [link via Lessig's Blog]
In 1992 Congress retroactively applied the copright extension to works back to 1923. What had been a 28 year term became the life of the author plus 70 years (or 95 years for work owned by a corporation).
By extending the copryight term, Congress has robbed the public of over more than half the works that would have entered the public domain in our lifetime.
Simply put, that ended growth of the public domain.
Don't kid yourself that all of that stuff not in the public domain is "promot[ing] the Progress of Science and useful Arts" (the Constitutional mandate for copyright). Only 2% of that work lost to the public domain has any continuing commercial value. The other 98% of those creative works are out-of-print or out-of-publication material that is locked away behind copyright, languishing, never to see the light of day again in all likelihood. That lost 98% provides no revenue for the copyright holder and is prevented from providing any value to the public.
Posted June 15, 2003 09:52 AM