Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Variety) - Handing the entertainment business an enormous win Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) upheld a 1998 law giving Hollywood nearly a century before having to release copyrighted pictures into the public domain and lose exclusive rights to sell coveted classics. In a 7-2 ruling worth billions to showbiz, the justices said Capitol Hill was perfectly within its rights when it extended the life of copyrighted works by two decades, from 75 to 95 years. Industryites say the ruling provides an important investment incentive, both for future projects and for hundreds of existing works. With...

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld longstanding copyrights designed to protect the profits of songs, books and cartoon characters, a huge victory for Disney and other companies. The 7-2 ruling, while not unexpected, was a blow to Internet publishers and others who wanted to make old books available online and use the likenesses of a Mickey Mouse cartoon and other old creations without paying high royalties. Hundreds of thousands of books, movies and songs were close to being released into the public domain when Congress extended the copyright by 20 years in 1998. Justices said the copyright extension,...