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copyright law. However, the principle of fair use remains ambiguous, decided in court by judges on a case-by-case basis. Copyright owners tend to define the principle of fair use very narrowly and threaten those who reproduce even the smallest part pf a copyrighted work, such as a frame enlargement, with expensive lawsuits. Given this sort of intimidation and the potential expense of going to court against large corporations, educators and university presses are reluctant to test the limits of fair use in court.
The proposed copyright extension also effects unpublislied works, such as studio papers, production information, correspondence, stills, and other materials. These materials were to enter the public domain in 2002. The new legislation proposes to shield tliem for an additional ten years. Extended protection of these materials will restrict future film scholarship.
Conclusion
Scholars and educators have unique problems which are not addressed by the proposed legislation to extend the period of copyright protection. The proposed copyright extension threatens to strengthen the rights of copyright holders in ways which we find to be problematic. Even if term extension is deemed desirable for certain works, it is not necessarily desirable for other kinds of works, such as motion pictures or television programs made for hire. A copyright extension will do little or nothing to spur creativity in the making of new films and other audio-visual works and will have an adverse effect on the production of new films based on public domain works. Most importantly, by limiting our access to documents of cultural and historical significance it will seriously hamper the mission of educators as custodians and transmitters of our national moving image heritage.
submitted by John Belton Notes
1. Silkie von Lewinski, "EC Proposal for a Council Directive Harmonizing the Term of Protection of Copyright and Certain Related Rights," lie, 23, No. 6 (1992), 787.
2. Quoted in "Who Will Set the Tolls on the Information Superhighway," unpublished comments by David Pierce of the Committee for Film Preservation and Public Access (November 29, 1993), 9.
3. Twentieth Century Music Corporation v. Aiken, 422 U.S. 151, 156 (1975).