Copyright expiration is a deadline that demands your business\u2019 attention.\u00a0 Because copyrights last for decades, monitoring their expiration dates often take a back seat to more immediate business concerns.\u00a0 Although your business is unable to extend the expiration of its copyrights, your business is not powerless to guard against the negative impacts of copyright expiration.\u00a0 Counting on copyright protection without also monitoring and planning for impending expiration can devastate your long-term business plan.\u00a0 Implementing effective copyright portfolio management is crucial to your business\u2019 long-term growth and sustainability.<\/p>\n
Copyrighted works have enjoyed a longer shelf life since Congress passed and President Clinton signed into law the Copy Right Term Extension Act (also known as the Sonny Bono Act or the Mickey Mouse Protection Act) in 1998 (the \u201c1998 Act\u201d).\u00a0 The 1998 Act extended copyright terms in the United States so they conformed to the copyright expiration terms promulgated by the European Union.\u00a0 Prior to the 1998 Act, a copyright would last for the life of the author plus 50 years, or for corporate authorship, 100 years after creation or 75 years after publication, whichever would have expired first.\u00a0 The 1998 Act extended those terms to the life of the author plus 70 years, or for corporate authorship, 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever expires first.<\/p>\n
Thus, under the 1998 Act, copyrights that would have expired in 1998 are now set to expire on January 1, 2019.\u00a0 The copyright expiration terms under the 1998 Act are the following:<\/p>\n
Date of Publication<\/strong><\/td>\n| Copyright Term<\/strong><\/p>\n | <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Before 1923<\/td>\n | In public domain<\/p>\n | <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n 1923 through Dec. 31, 1977<\/td>\n | 95 years after publication date<\/p>\n | <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Jan. 1, 1978 through Dec. 31, 2002<\/td>\n | 70 years after the death of the author.\u00a0 If corporate authorship, 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first.\u00a0 For works created before Jan. 1, 1978 (but published Jan. 1, 1978 through Dec. 31, 2002), the term would not expire before December 31, 2047.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | After Dec. 31, 2002<\/td>\n | 70 years after the death of the author.\u00a0 If corporate authorship, 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | Many businesses have a lot at stake with their copyrights.\u00a0 For example, on January 1, 2019, Disney will lose its copyright on Mickey Mouse.\u00a0 Even the song \u201cHappy Birthday to You\u201d must face the music:\u00a0 a federal court in California recently decided that the song, which earned the now-former copyright owner an estimated 2 million dollars a year, is in the public domain and therefore not entitled to copyright protection.<\/p>\n Whether Congress will further extend copyright terms remains to be seen.\u00a0 Furthermore, although the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that under the Copyright Clause[1]<\/a> Congress has discretion to extend the terms of existing copyrights for \u201climited times,\u201d it is not clear just how \u201climited\u201d those times must be.\u00a0 See Eldred v. Ashcroft<\/em>, 537 U.S. 186, 199 (2003).<\/p>\n Businesses certainly should not count on another legislative extension of copyrights.\u00a0 Expiration of a copyright means that the public has the right to reproduce and copy the work without consent and without paying for it.\u00a0 Therefore, businesses must plan for the expiration of their copyrights so that once their copyrighted works become part of the public domain, they are not ill-prepared to handle the aftermath.<\/p>\n Good portfolio management, including diversifying your copyright portfolio, can help your business plan ahead for the expiration of its copyrights.\u00a0 Although copyright expiration is inevitable, the negative impact on your business need not be.\u00a0 If your business relies on the value gained from its copyrighted works, your business must be prepared for and account for the fact that the copyright will not always enjoy protection.<\/p>\n |