In the inaugural volume of The Economists’ Voice, Judge Richard Posner writes about Eldred and Fair Use
Larry Lessig flagellates himself about losing the Eldred case, which upheld the legality of copyright extensions. He shouldn’t: Eldred was unwinnable. (The Court’s 7-2 vote is one clue). Besides, the worst of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act’s effects can still be made to disappear, if courts deem it “fair use” to copy an old work whose copyright owner hasn’t taken reasonable steps to provide notice of his rights.
Judge Posner based this piece on work for a forthcoming article in the California Law Review (with Bill Patry) and guest-blogging at Lessig Blog.
