PFF today published a paper of mine titled "How Long is Long Enough? Copyright Term Extensions and the Berne Convention." In the Progress on Point I acknowledge I come at IP from a natural rights perspective, which makes me a lonely voice in a crowd of utilitarians. But while I recognize merit in utilitarian arguments that the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), or Sonny Bono Act, was unnecessary and perhaps even harmful, I further argue that there would be serious downsides to rolling back copyright term lengths beyond what they were before CTEA, or experimenting with registration models. Both would violate the Berne Convention, in which we and 160 or so other nations agree to respect the copyrights of artists in all the member nations. Whether like me you believe artists have some inherent rights upon creation independent of government blessing, or you're more likely to focus on the benefits accrued by end-users of content, it's hard to dispute the benefit both to US artists and to the US economy from membership in the Berne Convention. Discussions as to how to change copyright terms and conditions should start with Berne in mind (keeping in mind that treaties can always be changed, as Berne has several times over the last century).

posted by Patrick Ross @ 2:08 PM | Free Culture Movement

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