Concerning open source, programming, and whatever else I find interesting. Also the blog for my Web site, frigidcode.com.
Thanks, Sonny Bono
Posted 02-07-2012 at 01:56 PM by hydraMax
Interestingly,the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (also termed the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act") which extended copyright by 20 years, was named after Sonny Bono:
Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act
He didn't actually get the bill passed, but it was named in memory of him. Reportedly, it was his opinion that copyright should last forever. But the CTEA bill compromised with a "mere" twenty year extension.
Sigh... just imagine how many books (and perhaps software?) might be in the public domain by now if we had even stuck with the original duration of the 1790 Copyright Act, which provided a 14 year duration plus another 14 years if renewed. As things stand now, I'll be long dead and decomposed before the copyright expires for anything that was composed in my generation. Now we are up to "120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever endpoint is earlier." (Think that Walt Disney won't lobby to get that extended, once their 95 years is up...? If you think they won't, then you've been sniffing too much pixie dust.)
Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act
He didn't actually get the bill passed, but it was named in memory of him. Reportedly, it was his opinion that copyright should last forever. But the CTEA bill compromised with a "mere" twenty year extension.
Sigh... just imagine how many books (and perhaps software?) might be in the public domain by now if we had even stuck with the original duration of the 1790 Copyright Act, which provided a 14 year duration plus another 14 years if renewed. As things stand now, I'll be long dead and decomposed before the copyright expires for anything that was composed in my generation. Now we are up to "120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever endpoint is earlier." (Think that Walt Disney won't lobby to get that extended, once their 95 years is up...? If you think they won't, then you've been sniffing too much pixie dust.)
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