Argentina wants to extend photographic copyright by more than 100 years

Cory Doctorow 11:28 am Fri Oct 2, 2015

It'll go from 20 years from publication to 70 years after the photographer's death, and it's retroactive, meaning that millions of presently public domain photos reproduced online and in books will suddenly become copyright violations with gigantic penalties for all concerned.

This is why Argentinian digital rights organization, Fundación Via Libre has launched a campaign to fight back against this destructive term extension. They sent a letter to Argentinian lawmakers earlier this week, urging them to conduct proper, public-interest impact assessment and open it to public debate before moving forward with a bill that would have such sweeping impacts on the cultural commons. Now, EFF is one of 38 digital rights and access to knowledge groups urging Argentinian lawmakers to drop this proposal. The letter states (translated from Spanish):

Argentina Proposes a 100-Year-Plus Copyright Extension on Photography
[Maira Sutton/EFF]

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