Week 3: Politics of Intellectual Property Flashcards
The Mickey Curve
term used to describe our copyright policy
Explain the history of the Mickey curve
When Steamboat Willie was released, the property rights were supposed to cover for 48 years and expire in 1976 (when it would’ve become public domain) but several laws and treaties have extended it to 2024
What is the effect of extending and existing license?
It doesn’t encourage the creation of new art
*people can’t use the prospective works for inspired works
What explanation could you maybe use for this?
Could make a plausible, but ultimately wrong, argument for prospectively extending terms for new works. However, there is no principled argument for extending terms retroactively for existing works.
Why did this happen?
Copyright law was influenced by politicians and lobbyists
