How I See Copyright

The issue revolving around the length of a copyright in the United States sparks the most interest in me when regarding the subject of copyright and its laws. The idea of copyrighting work was established in England, when in 1710 Parliament enacted the Statute of Anne. We then followed this and formed our own with the Copyright Act of 1790, which granted authors 14 years plus an additional fourteen if they still happen to be alive. This act arose in order to create incentives for authors, artists, and scientists by providing the maker with a monopoly.
The economic stimulus created by a monopoly is tremendous, but the constant change to the length of a copyright in the United States has become ridiculous. What started at 14 years is now the author’s life PLUS 70 years, allowing for corporate giants such as Disney to rule over their mystical characters for eternity, or at least until they run out of time and are forced to influence law makers into extending the length of a copyright. It is disturbing how easily such a well established law, which pre-dates the Bill of Rights, can be altered to deny the public access. On the other hand, these extended periods of copyright can be viewed as ideal and even purposeful because after all it was the person with the copyrights’ idea and he should always be provided with first hand access.


How I See Copyright by Nick Steffen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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