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- Title
WHY CAN'T MY WAITER SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY: THE CHILLING EFFECT OF CORPORATE COPYRIGHT CONTROL.
- Authors
SMITH, RACHEL M.
- Abstract
In 2015, a lawsuit surrounding the copyright protection of the classic tune "Happy Birthday to You" resulted in the court concluding that a corporation who asserted ownership interest in the song never had a valid copyright to claim. For decades, the song considered to be an American folklore was no longer restricted by a corporation controlling its dissemination. This is not an isolated incident, but instead a norm in copyright. Therefore, a change must be made in copyright protection in order to justify the limited monopoly, as the current system does not promote progress of the useful arts. Copyright--through the lobbying of companies and special interest groups--operates now as a profit incentive to businesses looking to buy creative works and police any use or reference of their purchased art. These companies support a permission culture in copyright where artists should have to gain their approval before accessing a work, regardless of their intended purpose. Throughout this Article, the effect of corporate copyright control on free speech and the public domain is heavily dissected. By analyzing the dissenting opinions of Eldred v. Ashcroft, this Article argues copyright was intended to promote the progress of arts, not stifle creativity to provide a monetary reward. Then, the proposed solution to corporate copyright control calls for lobbying action by creators so that the termination interest can be exercised sooner. Additionally, copyright term lengths should automatically change upon the transfer of ownership from the author to anyone other than his or her heirs. As a result of the proposed solutions, companies will be deterred from purchasing and policing the use of popular works, which will lapse into the public domain sooner. Therefore, copyright will serve to incentivize the person who created the work, rather than as a profit point for companies.
- Subjects
ELDRED v. Ashcroft (Supreme Court case); COPYRIGHT; REWARDS programs (Criminal investigation)
- Publication
IDEA: The Intellectual Property Law Review, 2016, Vol 56, Issue 3, p399
- ISSN
0019-1272
- Publication type
Article