The Public Domain Enhancement Act

Media Release

Contact:

Lawrence Lessig
lessig@pobox.com +1 650-725-2565

Lauren Gelman
gelman@stanford.edu +1 650-724-3358

June 3, 2003

Petition Launched to Reclaim the Public Domain
Called "First Step" Towards Passage of Public Domain Enhancement Act

Stanford, California - Citizens eager to restore balance to copyright law today launched a petition to urge Members of the US Congress to support legislation to reclaim the public domain. "This is the first step in Act II-- passage of the Public Domain Enhancement Act," said Lawrence Lessig, professor of law at Stanford Law School, and a chief supporter of the Act.

As described at http://eldred.cc, the Act would require American copyright owners to pay a very low fee (for example, $1) fifty years after a copyrighted work was published. If the owner pays the fee, the copyright will continue for whatever duration Congress sets. But, as the petition states, "if the copyright is not worth even $1 to the owner, then we believe the work should pass into the public domain."

"I believe it was a mistake that Congress passed a law that extended the copyright term and that the US Supreme Court affirmed it," said Lessig, who spearheaded Act I-- Eldred v. Ashcroft-- the unsuccessful constitutional challenge to the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) before the Supreme Court last October. "But whether or not it makes sense to extend the copyright term for works that are being commercially exploited, it makes no sense to extend the copyright term for works that have exhausted their commercial life."

The petition cites Justice Breyer's dissent in Eldred, where he calculated that only 2% of the work copyrighted during the initial 20 years affected by the CTEA has any continuing commercial value at all. If the creators chose not to pay the fee, the Public Domain Enhancement Act would allow the remaining works to enter the public domain, so that new creators could use them to develop innovative new works.

"Copyright restrictions for works where the creator is not interested in preventing their use simply block access to the works. They do nothing to 'promote the Progress of Science' or culture, as the Constitution requires," said Lessig. "The petition is an opportunity for all Internet users to have their voices heard, and to let Congress know there is a popular desire for increased access to the public domain."

"We hope this petition will give voice to the thousands of voters out there who want to let Congress know they care about the public domain, and want to showcase works they've created from public domain material," said Lauren Gelman, an attorney who is managing the campaign to pass the Public Domain Enhancement Act. "It is vitally important that all citizens who care about this issue speak up and urge Congress to promote greater balance in the copyright law."

The petition is online at:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/eldred/petition.html

More information on the Public Domain Enhancement Act is at:
http://eldred.cc

About: http://eldred.cc: eldred.cc serves as the focal point for information about the campaign to pass the Public Domain Enhancement Act. Founded as part of the legal action to overturn the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Enhancement Act, it now houses all the documents from that case, as well as new and up-to-date information about advocacy efforts to promote the Act. It is maintained and supported by individuals working to reclaim the public domain through litigation and legislation.