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Fri 01 Jan 2009Extending copyright is music to major labels' ears
WIRED:Plan to extend terms of copyright may benefit media firms, but artists and fans will lose out, writes Danny O'Brien
IN 1998, Sonny Bono’s wife, Mary Bono, called on US Congress to grant artists a perpetual copyright on their works. When she was informed this was unconstitutional, she asked for an increase of 20 years. She wasn’t alone in her request. Bono’s law became known as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act” because lobbyist Disney used it to keep hold of the copyright on the oldest Mickey Mouse cartoons.
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