Copyright term extension act and its impact on competition law

Bheemineni, Bhavishya (2023) Copyright term extension act and its impact on competition law. [Working papers (or Preprints)]

[thumbnail of SSRN-id4486426.pdf] Text
SSRN-id4486426.pdf - Published Version

Download (445kB)

Abstract

Over the years, Congress has periodically increased the duration of copyright protection. Under the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), the protection period for copyrights has again been extended by another twenty years. Now, the creator will enjoy copyright protection over his work for 110 years. This means, in most cases, a new creator has to obtain a copyright license from someone who is not even the original creator. Therefore, this puts limitations on people’s capacity to recreate, and in turn, creates a conflict between creators and the general public, because by denying access to works that should be available to the public, artists are burdened with high costs and are deterred from producing more works. For instance, Disney has been able to effectively protect its characters under copyright law up to this point, and with the enaction of the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), it obtained an additional 20 years of copyright protection for works published after 1923. Given that the US Constitution (Article 1, Section 8(8)) grants creators and innovators an exclusive right to their work for a Limited Period of time. However, the enactment of CTEA should be considered a misuse of this jurisdiction. Moreover, giant corporations such as Disney have gained market dominance in the entertainment industry by utilising a state-sanctioned copyright monopoly. Although copyright legislation is meant to safeguard artists and innovators, it is currently being abused to safeguard companies' interests through influence and manipulation. The research paper explores the intersection of copyright law and antitrust law, with regard to the enactment of the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act. The research discusses the constitutional validity of the Copyright Extension Act with the help of various case laws dealt with by the Supreme Court of the United States. Overall, the research tries to show the impact of the said Act on the US competition law

Item Type: Working papers (or Preprints)
Keywords: Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) | Disney | Copyright Duration
Subjects: Social Sciences and humanities > Social Sciences > Social Sciences (General)
Social Sciences and humanities > Social Sciences > Law and Legal Studies
JGU School/Centre: Jindal Global Law School
Depositing User: Subhajit Bhattacharjee
Date Deposited: 22 Nov 2023 18:39
Last Modified: 22 Nov 2023 18:39
Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4486426
URI: https://pure.jgu.edu.in/id/eprint/6937

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item
View Item