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The Supreme Court recently limited artists’ and musicians’ right to protect their work with copyright laws. (See answer at right.)
True or False answer: False. In fact, the high court did just the opposite. The court said the Consitution gives Congress a lot of leeway in establishing how long artists can keep exclusive control of their works. In its decision, the court upheld a 1998 law that added 20 years to copyrights. So an artist retains control of a work for his or her lifetime plus 70 years (which affects the artist’s heirs). For corporations, the time frame has been upped to 95 years. The decision will prevent corporations’ creations (think Walt Disney Co. and Mickey Mouse) from entering the public domain anytime soon.
