Showing posts with label Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998. Show all posts

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Why Mickey Mouse’s 1998 copyright extension probably won’t happen again; Ars Technica, January 8, 2018

Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica; Why Mickey Mouse’s 1998 copyright extension probably won’t happen again

"Most of the public considered copyright to be a boring subject with little relevance to their daily lives, so there was little grassroots interest in the issue. Karjala hoped that professional associations of librarians and historians—which had traditionally been important advocates for the public interest on copyright issues—would help stop the bill. But the legislation had so much momentum that these groups decided to settle for minor changes to the legislation. So the bill wound up passing without a significant fight.

The rise of the Internet has totally changed the political landscape on copyright issues. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is much larger than it was in 1998. Other groups, including Public Knowledge, didn't even exist 20 years ago. Internet companies—especially Google—have become powerful opponents of expanding copyright protections."