When Will Republicans Finally Tell The Media They're Not Getting More Subsidies?

Every few years, Disney's earliest copyrights come close to expiring, and the GOP agrees to extend copyright protection -- although we are now at a ridiculous length of time.

Enough. The GOP should be taxing the shit out of the media, not doing it further favors.

Brito's incisive book tells tale after tale of government kowtowing to copyright holders. An egregious example is Mickey Mouse. "Each time the copyright ... was about to expire, and the happy rodent was about to become a shared cultural icon like Santa Claus, Hamlet, and Uncle Sam, Congress has extended the copyright term," Brito explains.

This is not at all what the founders had in mind when they authorized Congress "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries. ... "

Retroactively extending the copyright on a work produced long ago cannot promote useful arts and sciences. It just enriches the copyright holder and denies access to everyone else -- which is exactly the point, if you're an industry lobbyist.

Once again, big business is aligned with big government and against open competition. So far, the party of free markets is on the wrong side.

posted by Ace at 07:15 PM

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