Question #1
An interesting Act passed by the United States House of Congress is the Copyright Term Extension Act. The Copyright Term Extension Act was signed into law on October 27, 1998. The law was an amendment to the 1978 Copyright Act of the United States. The amendment increased the time a literary work or composition can be kept from the public domain. The first copyright law to be signed in the United States only kept a literary work from the public domain for 14 years. However, this number has steadily increased to more than a century, depending on the day of the composition.
The Copyright Term Extension Act played a major role since it was enacted. The work gave publishers 95 years from the day of publishing to maintain full control of the pseudonyms and content before the public can use the work. Protecting the work from public domain ensured that a creator had full control of the content of a literary work for 120 years from the day of creation (Miller & Hollowell, 2004). This law, thus ensured that a creator was fully benefiting from the creation. This law also inhibits the use of piracy from using the work for profit purposes. As such, the lawsuits the creators and publishers of a literary work mostly, giving them sufficient time to control the content and receive royalties from the use of the work.
The law had some few exceptions for some institutions. A new book, one that is within 20 years since its protection under the law, can be used in a public library, archives or non-profit educational institutions. These institutions have been given the power to use such a book as if it were in the public domain for the main role of its preservation. All works that had been copyrighted by the day the bill was enacted into law, October 27, 1998, are fully covered by the law (One Hundred Fifth Congress of the United States of America, 1998). The Act also allows for a literary work to be kept from the public domain for 70 years since the creator's death.
Question #2
The first copyright law that was enacted in the United States was only 14 years long. However, the laws have changed considerably over the last 125 years. In 1790, the term was increased giving the owners of a literary work an additional 14 years to a copyrighted work. In 1831, the copyright protection was changed in 28 years with an additional 14 years, and later on in 1909, the duration was changed in 28 years with an additional 28-year renewal. Such changes were seen as rational and took place over a prolonged period.
However, in 1928, Disney introduced their first animated series, Mickey Mouse. Since a law had already been passed in 1909, the work was entitled to 56 years copyright protection. As such, the copyright protection ensured that the public could not use the work until 1984. However, in 1976, Congress allowed the protection of a literary work by insisting that an author would enjoy copyright protection for life plus an additional 50 years, which thus ensured that the Mickey Mouse character was kept from the public domain until 2003 (Lee, 2013). Five years prior to the expiration of the copyright, Disney started intensive lobbying actions against the law, which saw it changed once again in 1998.
In 1998, the Copyright Term Extension Act was introduced and this propelled the copyright protection of any literary work by 20 years to 95 years or 120 years from the year of creation, depending on whichever came first. One of the few congressmen that pushed for the enactment of this law was Sonny Bono, and hence the law is also known as the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act or the Mickey Mouse copyright act. The name Mickey Mouse was added to the act due to the countless efforts that have been taken to lobby for an extension of the act by Disney. A Mickey Mouse character is kept from the public domain until 2023.
Question #3
One of the features of the act is that it is one of the acts that are largely hated by most creators in the history of the United States. Most authors would love to develop former stories or literary works from other authors, recreating them or creating sequels. However, the act prohibits the use of the works in the public domain. As such, the laws are seen by some people as rather oppressive to the creator as some author argue that they might have better stories to develop on the already created characters if given a chance to. As such, from a legal perspective, the act plays a vital role in ensuring that a work is protected and an author can claim full copyright ownership of any given work for as long as 120 years (Schlackman, 2014). However, since the creation of a literary work, more people with better ideas or ideas that would help further a character or plot have been born. However, such authors die without getting the chance to develop on a pseudonym due to the 120-year copyright protection introduced by the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998.
References
One Hundred Fifth Congress of the United States of America. (1998). “Title I—Copyright Term Extension: An Act.” Web. June 27, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/s505.pdf
Lee, T. B. (October 25, 2013). “15 years ago, Congress kept Mickey Mouse out of the public domain. Will they do it again?” Web. June 27, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/10/25/15-years-ago-congress-kept-mickey-mouse-out-of-the-public-domain-will-they-do-it-again/
Schlackman, S. (February 15, 2014). “How Mickey Mouse Keeps Changing Copyright Law.” Web. June 27, 2015. Retrieved from http://artlawjournal.com/mickey-mouse-keeps-changing-copyright-law/
Miller, R. L. R., & Hollowell, W. E. (2004). Business law text and exercises. Cincinnati, Ohio: West Legal Studies in Business.
