Snowgod
Blu-ray Movies - Wow!
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2000
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- 533
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) upheld on Wednesday a 1998 law extending copyright protection by 20 years, delaying when creative works such as Walt Disney Co.'s Mickey Mouse cartoons, F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels and George Gershwin's songs become public property.
The 7-2 ruling was a victory for supporters of the law, including large media companies and song publishers that argued the longer term was needed to protect a vital industry that contributes more than $500 billion to the U.S. economy.
It dealt a defeat to an Internet publisher and others who challenged the law for limiting free speech and for harming the creative process by locking up material they said should be in the public domain for all to use without charge.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (news - web sites) wrote for the court majority that the U.S. Congress in adopting the law acted within its authority and did not exceed constitutional limits. She also said the law does not violate constitutional free-speech protections.
The 7-2 ruling was a victory for supporters of the law, including large media companies and song publishers that argued the longer term was needed to protect a vital industry that contributes more than $500 billion to the U.S. economy.
It dealt a defeat to an Internet publisher and others who challenged the law for limiting free speech and for harming the creative process by locking up material they said should be in the public domain for all to use without charge.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (news - web sites) wrote for the court majority that the U.S. Congress in adopting the law acted within its authority and did not exceed constitutional limits. She also said the law does not violate constitutional free-speech protections.
