The Sonny Bono Coyrights Law

[thomas7g]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_B..._Extension_Act


We've talked for awhile about the Sonny Bono law, but we never really produced anything on it that really described the law. The above link is all I could find that relates media property rights.

Basically what it is is an amendment to another copyright law. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works provides that an artist gets a copyright of his work his entire life, and his estate gets it for 50 years more past his death. Provided these rights weren't sold away. The Sonny Bono law extends that copyright further to about 95 years.

So basically it keeps all things that were copyrighted from falling under the public domain. So artist's copyrights basically started around 1923. So nothing will become public domain until January 1st, 2019!!!!



Sonny...didn't your Mom teach you to Cher!!!!:laugh:

[Darth Marley]

There is some concern about the nature of the constituional limit on patents and copyrights.
The notion is that limited monopolies are granted to "promote useful arts and sciences" that would not be produced without the profit motive.

One amusing remark I remember from the days when this legislation was being debated went something like;

"How will extending the copyrights 90 years after their deaths encourage Gershwin or Hendrix to produce another song from beyond the grave?"

[thomas7g]

agreed. This is purely driven by the MPAA to protect all their movie and record collections.

Frankly... there should be a law against this law.