Copyright office head denounces "big mistake" of extending copyright

Cory Doctorow 9:02 am Tue Feb 21, 2006

The head of the US copyright office has accused Congress of making a mistake by extending the length of copyright in America, calling the term "too long," and saying that Congress made a "big mistake."

The remarkable admission came at the tail end of an event held at the UNC Law School on November 2, 2005, when Mary-Beth Peters, the Register of Copyrights, and a panel of copyright scholars, lawyers and bureaucrats convened to deliberate copyright in public.

Peters can be heard making the statement one minutes and eight seconds into the video linked below:

[1:08] We've certainly lengthened the term [of copyright] perhaps — I won't even say perhaps — too long a term. I think it is too long. I think that was probably a big mistake, but one that Congress can make."

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Credit: The University of North Carolina and UNC-TV for the video capture and TJ Ward for digizing it.

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