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Politics : Have you read your constitution today?
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To: epicure who started this subject10/22/2002 12:09:56 AM
From: Thomas M.Read Replies (1) of 403
 
Challenge in Copyright Case May Be Just a Beginning
Amy Harmon
The New York Times, October 14, 2002, Page C4

This article reports on a case before the Supreme Court
that contests the constitutionality of a law extending the
duration of copyrights, retroactively. The article reports
that the Justices seemed to believe that the law was
foolish, but that doesn't mean that they would find the law
unconstitutional. The article asserts that the
determination of the law's constitutionality "hangs on the
question of whether Congress has exceeded its
Constitutional authority to grant copyrights for 'limited
terms' by repeatedly extending the term."

Actually, there is a separate issue concerning
congressional authority that may be more important in
this case. The clause in the constitution that gives
Congress the power to grant copyrights specifies that the
purpose of the copyright is "to promote the progress of
science and useful arts." The court may determine that
the retroactive extension of a copyright cannot possibly
promote the progress of science and useful arts, since it
clearly cannot change past behavior. In this case, the
copyright extension would exceed congressional authority
and be an unconstitutional infringement on free speech.

tompaine.com
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