To promote the progress of science and useful arts? Hmm...
The library of Congress may purchase Martin Luther King's papers. Assessing this action by the federal government from the perspective of copyright (only), would it make better sense to let these works enter the public domain? It seems that the Federal government is extending the term of copyright ownership (Sony Bono Law), and then purchases rights to works that would enter the public domain in a reasonable time, if the life of copyright would not be extended every time intellectual property owners lobby Congress for an extension.
(Caveat: I think the King paper's are clearly valuable. The issue for me is when and how works should enter the public domain.)
-- Rod Dixon, J.D., LL.M. Visiting Assistant Professor of Law Rutgers University School of Law - Camden rod[_at_]cyberspaces.org http://www.cyberspaces.org/Received on Sat Oct 30 1999 - 14:41:20 GMT
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