Term Papers on DO COPYRIGHT PROTECTION LAST TOO LONG

Term Paper Title	DO COPYRIGHT PROTECTION LAST TOO LONG
# of Words	731
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.92

DO COPYRIGHT PROTECTION LAST TOO LONG

Do Copyright protection last too long?

Copyright is essentially a provision of monopolistic protection for authors
as an incentive for them to produce creative works for the public good. The
issue of "how long a copyright should last is as old as the oldest
copyright statute and will doubtless continue as long as there is a copyright
law." The balance between rewarding authors and securing a benefit to the
public is often a delicate one, and indeed it is at the heart of the debate over
the long term of copyright today.

My Opinion

But this monopoly can last - as the Constitution dictates for only a
"limited time." After that, the work goes into the public domain, so
other authors, artists, and composers can use it in creating new works, and so
the entire public can draw on it as part of our cultural heritage.

Fourteen years was the original copyright term in the United States.

At present copyright lasts in the United States until 50 years after the
author's death -- or in the case of corporate authors (like Disney or
Microsoft), or of works published before l978, until 75 years after their
publication.

But such long terms raise the public's costs for access to the work. They may
also bar access, since the writer's descendants may not approve of what she
wrote. They may block authors from creating new works based on earlier ones.

Copyrights, unlike trademarks, have always posed problems, even if you think
they're necessary. They are, after all, government-granted monopolies; as such,
they should be strictly limited and carefully watched. If someone wants to
extend their reach, he'd better have a compelling argument for doing so, and
lawmakers should approach his proposal with due skepticism.

Instead, Congress acts as a rubber stamp for copyright holders, especially
the big campaign donors in the entertainment industry. At the dawn of the
republic, copyrights lasted for just 14 years and could be renewed for another
14. This period has been gradually extended, especially lately: It has been
lengthened 11 times in the last 40 years, most recently by the Sonny Bono
Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998

Governments SAY they promote literacy and education for the masses, but these...

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