David Copen Professor Chambers FIN-26074 4/27/17 How Copyright extensions ruined the Public Domain Over the years we have all had our run-ins with copyright in one way or another. From the products we buys to the media we enjoy. But one thing most of us are not aware of is that the copyright laws that been put in place due to corporate lobbying has stunted the expansion of public domain. I will try in the best of my ability and with the sources I have available to give you some insight on the world of copyright law, why it is important, and how it has been changed throughout the years to stunt the available material to be added to the public domain. I will be arguing that the system needs amending in its current form and not have such a long …show more content…
The Copyright Act of 1790 was the first law pertaining to protecting the rights of a creator on record in the United States. It stated that the creator or creators of a book, map, chart, or any printed material had the sole rights to print and distribute the work for 14 years and if they were still alive when the initial term was to expire, barring they were still living, they could extend it for an additional 14 years. This was amended by the Copyright Act of 1831 which extended the protection to music on top of extending the first length of protection to 28 years and then a 14 year extension allowed under the same terms as the Act of 1790. These statutes stood until 1909 which changed the renewal to 28 as well allowing a creator to have exclusive rights for up to 56 years, doubling the previsions of the original copyright laws allowed. After this things start to become a bit …show more content…
The Disney Company, one of the largest and most recognized brands in the world. With the work Steamboat Willy that came out in 1928 under the before mentioned laws the character Mikey Mouse should have entered the public domain in 1984 but something happened to change that. In 1974 Congress passed legislation that changed Copyright Law to what we know today. With these changes it issues that copyright went even further than one’s live time. With this new law in place copyrighted work was protected until after 50 years of the creator’s death. So now Disney’s work was safe 2003. That is all well and good until we get to 5 years before again Steamboat Willy would enter the public domain. Which brings us to the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998. The legislation went and pushes copyright protection to “life of the author plus 70 years” and furthermore for corporate work to 95 years after publication or 120 years after creation whichever expires which gives Disney protected for their first animated short until 2023. Now that we know the history and how Disney may have had a hands in changing quite a bit of legal change because of this brings us to why does this matter to us, the