Copyright term, film labeling, and film preservation legislation : hearings before the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, first session, on H.R. 989, H.R. 1248, and H.R. 1734 ... June 1 and July 13, 1995 (1996)

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533 Graphic Artists Guild p. 3 made for hire should not be extended, but should remain at seventy-five years. Commercial entities wishing to obtain a potentially longer copyright term will thus make certain that the creator-in-fact retains his or her rights, and will be able to share in the profits derived from his or her work. As there is no equivalent to American work for hire in the European copyright community, it is not necessary to extend work for hire to bring American law in line with European practice. Conclusions . Without the protection of effective copyright law, creators lose the economic incentive to create. The creative industries cannot exist without the work of individual creators; protecting the individual copyright holder is basic to the public interest. Extending the copyright term does not immediately benefit the creator. But creative work often becomes more popular over time, through changes in fashion, or even after the creator's death. The creator's knowledge that his or her work will benefit their heirs is an incentive to the creative process. To truly be an incentive, term extension must benefit the individual creator. It should not offer unnegotiated windfalls to licensee rightsholders, but should allow the heirs of the creator to determine disposition of the extended term. Extending the term on works made for hire increases the incentive for commercial clients to place unreasonable demands on the creator-in-fact, and deprives the true creator of the ability to bargain effectively for either immediate benefit or for the benefit of his heirs. The copyright term should be extended to life plus seventy for creators-in-f act only. Extended term on subsisting copyrights should be returned to the heirs of the creator, and should not be the property of the current rightsholder . Work for hire need not be extended to bring American law into harmony with European practice, and should not be extended because to do so would prejudice the rights of creators-in-f act .