Foreign Works Yanked from the Public Domain

The Supreme Court recently upheld the law granting copyright protection to several foreign works which were in the public domain--meaning they were available to the public. The law came about in order to bring the United States in compliance with the Berne Convention.  The law granted copyright protection for foreign works that never received protection in the United States because they were published in countries that had lacked copyright relations with the United States.  It also provides copyright protection to works in the public domain due to technical defects in meeting the requirements of the Copyright Act.  In a 6-2 ruling, the Supreme Court held that Congress acted within its powers in enacting this law. Congress reasoned that full participation in the Berne Convention best served the interests of the United States. 

The movie, music, and publishing industries believe that the Supreme Court's ruling will open the door for them to obtain reciprocal rights overseas.  However, the ruling does create some chaos in that there are now works which persons did not have to pay for and now will have to pay to use those works. I am also not sure about the reciprocity idea, but I guess the proof is in the pudding on that issue.

On the other side of the issue were orchestra conductors, performers, educators, among others, who believed that Congress exceeded its powers to take away works that they could perform or share freely because they were in the public domain.  Not surprisingly, Google was also on this side of the argument. 

The Supreme Court's ruling is another in a series of others giving Congress broad discretion with regard to enacting Copyright laws. Indeed, it appears as if Congress over the last few years has worked to increase copyright protection in response to pressure from the entertainment industry.  With the expansion of the technology sector (especially the "new" media like Google, Facebook, etc.), Congress will now have to walk a tightrope to satisfy both sides.  The perfect example of the tension between the two sectors can be found in the recent fight over SOPA and PIPA. 

The way we share works and information is changing and Congress should work harder to balance the interests of all.  The overriding purpose of intellectual property laws (like the Copyright Act) is to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts." (U.S. Const., Art. I, Sec. 8)  In order to promote the arts, Congress should allow authors to utilize and use works after they have fallen in the public domain.  Continually providing for longer protection or yanking works out of the public domain, in my opinion, does just the opposite--it stifles creation.