A Letter requesting aid from
teachers, scholars, curators, visual resources curators and related professionals
in preparing the
College Art Association Amicus Brief
opposing the constitutionality of
the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA)
currently before the Supreme Court in the case of
Eldred v. Ashcroft.
2/28/2002


Dear Reader:

We need to enlist the help of scholars and visual resources specialists in our efforts to overturn the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act now before the Supreme Court.

The College Art Association has decided to file an Amicus brief in the matter of Eldred v. Ashcroft, and to argue for a finding that the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) is unconstitutional in its manner of extending the length of time works remain under copyright. In our view, CTEA has serious consequences relating to the free exercise of our first amendment rights, and robs the public of the right to use works that were created under a regime when copyright terms were shorter than they are now. The erosion of the public domain that CTEA has caused can be halted if the Supreme Court finds in favor of Eldred.

Counsel for CAA, Jeffrey Cunard (Debevoise and Plimpton) has prepared a summary of our case and the reasons why it is being filed, and has asked me to refer individuals who seek further clarification to its locaton. It may be found at the following URL

http://www.studiolo.org/CIP/AmicusEldredCAA.htm

Time is short

The Amicus Brief must be filed in about 30 days from today (2/27/02), which means that the information we are requesting from scholars must be presented quickly. Mr. Cunard is more than willing to answer questions about this project and to talk to people about their relevant experiences. His email address is as follows:

We need to demonstrate that the Copyright Term Extension Act as now constituted, adding 20 years to the copyright term (now the life of the artist plus 70 years), has been or threatens to be detrimental to your work as scholars, art historians, teachers, writers, and visual resources workers. For this purpose we need to collect a variety of real-world examples drawn from the experience and expectations of researchers and scholars who

  • have had trouble tracking down copyright owners of older materials, which were just to go out of copyright (from the '20s-'40s) until the passage of the CTEA in 1998;
    and/or
  • have had publishers deny them rights to use such works;
    and/or
  • have had publishers tell them that they will not publish scholarly work, including third-party copyrighted works that were about to fall into the public domain, unless rights are cleared;
    and/or
  • were anticipating that works would fall into the public domain, and were hoping to make use of such works until the extension of the copyright term.

Any help you can provide in tracking down researchers whose actual experiences can be used to demonstrate the extent to which the CTEA has chilled the creation of expression will be invaluable. Offering up such examples in our brief will highlight the effect of the term extension and make it all the more vivid for the Court, demonstrating that the first amendment "chill" is not just a theoretical possibility.

NOTE This request not only refers to original works of art that meet the above conditions, but also to copyrighted photographs documenting works of art, even when those works are securely in the public domain.

Mr. Cunard's office will talk with those individuals whose stories are the most compelling to verify the details. It's a chance for fame and fortune (assuming that being in an amicus brief is "fame"), and, more importantly, it's in aid of a good cause. Just send them our way!!

Contact Jeffrey P. Cunard

Outline of College Art Association's Amicus Brief in Support of Eldred's Appeal

For further information see

http://www.studiolo.org/index01.htm

Robert Baron:

Selected Resources about
Copyright Term Extension and
Promoting a lively Public domain:

 

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