Support the Public Domain Enhancement Act

Thanks to the efforts of Lawrence Lessig, and the good graces of Zoe Lofgren and John Doolittle, The Public Domain Enhancement (or Eric Eldred) Act has been introduced in the House of Representatives. This common-sense law will help to undo some of the greatest harm done by the 1998 copyright land grab:

The Public Domain Enhancement Act offers American copyright owners with continuing interest in works an easy way to maintain their copyrights while allowing abandoned works to enter the public domain. It requires that American copyright owners pay a simple $1 fee to maintain their copyrights 50 years after publication. If the owner fails to pay the $1 fee, the copyright expires and the work enters the public domain. In addition, copyright owners are required to submit a form identifying the copyright holder to facilitate proper licensing of copyrighted works.

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In 1998, Congress passed the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), extending the term of copyright laws by 20 years for works copyrighted after the year 1923. In his dissent in the Eldred v. Ashcroft case upholding CTEA, Supreme Court Justice Breyer found that only about 2% of copyrights between 55 and 75 years old retain commercial value. Yet under the CTEA, these works will not enter the public domain for many years. This prevents commercial entities and the public from building upon, cultivating and preserving these works.

Under current law, essentially nothing will enter the public domain in the US until 2019, if then. The only exceptions are a few very old works that were re-granted copyright protection by the Sono Bono act in 1998.

Support the public domain and the future of our culture—write or call your Representative today and ask him or her to support this bill.

Filed under: copyright