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Re: REALLY OT: News Flash



Mike McCarty wrote:

> Miles Fidelman wrote:
>> Mike McCarty wrote:
>> 
>>> BTW, where in the Constitution of these USA does it state that Copyright
>>> must be limited?
>> 
>> Well, this is getting WAY off topic, but...
>> 
>> Article I, Section 8.
>> 
>> The actual language in the constitution states that "The Congress shall
>> have the power to ...  promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts,
>> by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive
>> Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;"
>> Note the word "limited."
> 
> Yes, that is an adjective modifying the noun "Times", not "exclusive
> Right". Are you saying that Bono argued for making copyright eternal?
> Do you have a cite?

Sure.  Look at "Steamboat Willy".  Compare the original copyright date and
limit to it's current copyright date and limit.  Under the copyright laws
of it's era, Steamboat Willy would have had a snowball's chance in hell of
staying under copyright past World War II.  Now the soonest it can go into
public domain is next decade...90+ years after being initially copyrighted,
and longer than the copyright terms that the US revolted from.





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