4 ms·
Yes, it grants congress the power to grant copyright protections for a "limited time." Although a limited time could conceivably be "any finite period of time,"
by hamiltonkibbe 13y ago
Yes, it grants congress the power to grant copyright protections for a "limited time." Although a limited time could conceivably be "any finite period of time," a set of which "1 million years" is a member, if one chose to interpret it that way.
EDIT: I hope no one ever interprets it that way.
- rhizome 13y agoIt has and will continue to be interpreted that way until a stronger defense against it is conceived.
- andrewfong 13y ago1 million years would be pushing it, but there isn't a clear boundary. Eldred v. Ashcroft is the most authoritative case in U.S. law on this but it doesn't reach a clear conclusion. [1] What's more interesting is the dissent in that case. According to Justice Breyer, the current copyright term is valued at 99.8% of a perpetual copyright (presumably because the present value of the future becomes increasingly discounted over time). Unfortunately, the rest of the court didn't go along with this as it would have implied throwing out plenty of prior copyright extensions as well. [1] http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/01-618.ZO.html http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/01-618.ZO.html
- JetSpiegel 13y agoThen ... 1 Billion years!