United States Senate

WASHINGTON, DC 20510-1006

May 23, 2001

Dear Susan:

Thank you for taking the time to contact my office recently and express your views on the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act.  Your comments are important to me, and I appreciate you sharing your views on this matter.

Duration for copyrights is one of the major parameters for establishing the amount of protection accorded to authors and other owners of copyright.  It is also the principal dividing line between the property rights on such owners and the public domain.  Under the United States Constitution, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8, Congress is authorized to grant copyright protection for limited times.

The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act extends the copyright term for all categories of copyrightable works by an additional 20 years and creates a new termination right during the 20 year added period.  It also grants libraries and educational institutions an exemption to reproduce works that are not commercially exploited and not available at a reasonable price during the 20 period.  Under this law, the new copyright term for post-1977 personal works is life plus 70 years.  For works made for hire, anonymous and pseudonymous works, the term is a fixed period of 95 years after publication or 120 years after creation, whichever is shorter.  For pre-1978 works, the fixed period is 95 years from the date the copyright was secured.

This law was passed with the goal of protecting the intellectual property rights of creators and their heirs, as authorized by the U.S. Constitution.  I appreciate your concern with this matter; however, the Supreme Court has not determined this law to be unconstitutional.  While we disagree on this issue, I encourage you to stay in touch with my office.  I assure you that, as I vote on issues that effect our nation and our state, I will remember your views.

With kindest regards, I am,

Sincerely,

Zell Miller