I was sure Dennis was going to post this but I have not seen it. http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/01/copyright/supreme-court-upholds-law-restoring-copyright-to-some-public-domain-works/
Despite many of attacks on the decision from the likes of the HathiTrust ( who cry crocodile tears about authors receiving fair compensation when they tried to put up and make available works they knew to be under copyright) this is neither a surprising decision. For decades artists, writers, filmmakers outside the US were deprived of their rights by the complex US copyright law so in fact the vast majority of European films made prior to 1960 ( a rough guess) had no copyright protection. This is not like the Sonny Bonno/ Disney 20 year extension . It is a legitimate fix to a system that had systematically screwed overseas rights holders. Oddly I know two of the people involved in drafting the law and one of the major plaintiffs. My first friend to have a Supreme Court case but he lost. -- Jessica Rosner Media Consultant 224-545-3897 (cell) 212-627-1785 (land line) [email protected]
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