Copyright, like most controversial issues tends to have its swings and roundabouts. In the US, copyright protection has been extended from time to time, most recently in the Sonny Bono (otherwise known as the Mickey Mouse) Amendment.
The European Union is considering following suit and extending performers rights from the present 50 years to 95 Years, keeping Cliff Richards a bachelor boy.
It should be appreciated that all additional protection afforded to copyright holders comes at the expense of the public. Most people accept that there is a need for a balance, but there is legitimate debate as to where that balance should be.
Sometimes, such debate is affected, in no small part, by the personalities and beliefs of the decision makers.
Representative Tom Lantos and chairman of the full House Foreign Affairs Committee has passed away. The candidate most likely to succeed him is apparently Rep. Howard Berman, the current chair of the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s copyright subcommittee. Berman is a staunch fighter for the interests of the music industry, whereas Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) is apparently an advocate of free use of copyright material.
With current legislation in the US being both unenforceable, and leading to a reign of terror on university campuses, it is due for the pendulum to swing back. Maybe, the likely reshuffle in the US Congress will provide the impetus.
