Copyright does not last forever

This story from Techdirt really hit a sore spot. Apparently, a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art wouldn’t allow a guest — an intellectual property lawyer at that — to photograph a Nicholas Poussin painting. Normally, photography is allowed in the Met, so long as there’s no flash. The reason for the guard’s denial was copyright. Since when does copyright apply to the work of a man who died in 1665?

It doesn’t. But it does highlight an issue that seems to be growing. That is, if intellectual property holders had their way, copyright would last forever. But it doesn’t, and it shouldn’t. After a certain period of time, copyrighted works fall into the public domain, which means they may be used for any purpose by anyone.

Of course, figuring out what is in the public domain isn’t simple. You can check out some informative charges here. Basically, the term is either 95 years from publication or 70 years after the death of the author. By the way, anything published before 1923 is in the public domain. So if you’re paying for, say, books by Upton Sinclair, you might want to check out his listing in Project Gutenberg. You can find anything written prior to Oil! (later made into There Will Be Blood).

Actually, before the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, the terms were 50 years after death, or 75 years from publication. This was mainly to protect large and highly successful IP owners, most notably Walt Disney, who’s Steamboat Willy cartoons featuring Mickey Mouse were set to enter the public domain in 2000.

Why is this all important? Because art is for everyone. Yes, we need to ensure that we properly compensate those who create the art we enjoy. But at the same time we need to ensure that people aren’t spreading misinformation so that they can extract every possible dollar out of uncopyrighted material. The current fear over copyright law makes it easier to pull the wool over the eyes of the public.