Posted by Sonny Bono speaks... on February 16, 2003 at 00:26:18:
In Reply to: Re: Cherry Classics Orchestra CD (US vs CAN) posted by Brian Frederiksen on February 14, 2003 at 06:56:53:
Well, things aren't as simple as you make them out to be. The Supreme Court only recently upheld (by a split decision) the terms of that piece of midnight legislation known as the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act of 1998. In brief, this stiuplates that in the case of works copyrighted before 1950 and renewed before 1978, the term of copyright has been extended 20 years to a total term of 95 years. The forces behind this bit of chicanery were primarily Disney (or else ol' Mickey, would now be in the public domain) and (surprise) the Gershwin Trust. And you thought that our legislators were supposed to be the guardians of the public domain....
I figure that when 2018 rolls around, there'll be another extension of 20 years by the best lawmakers that money can buy.
For the official scoop, click on the link below.