Re: Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8.

On Mon, Jul 31, 2000, Robert Cumbow <rcumbow[_at_]grahamdunn.com> wrote:
>
> On Fri, Jul 28, 2000, Christopher Gwyn <christopher[_at_]icopyright.com> wrote:
> >
> > Can anyone think of a Supreme Court case that speaks to whether an
> > author can actually _sell_ a copyright? (Or for that matter if the
> > Supreme Court has ever defined what "for limited times" means?)
>
> It doesn't take a Supreme Court opinion to determine whether an
> author can sell a copyright. All it takes is 17 USC 201(d)(1).

Ultimately it does take the Supreme Court. If a case involving 17 USC 201(d)(1) came to the Supreme Court they could -- in theory -- declare 17 USC 201(d)(1) to be unconstitutional. It might be highly unlikely that they would do so, but they have declared long-standing law unconstitutional before. From the replies so far I take it that there hasn't actually been such a case at the Supreme Court level.

     Regards,
     Christopher

Christopher Gwyn
Licensing Agent, iCopyright.com
425-430-4555 x628 (voice)
425-430-8878 (fax)
http://www.iCopyright.com/
<christopher[_at_]icopyright.com> Received on Tue Aug 01 2000 - 23:27:14 GMT