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No. 01-618 In the Supreme Court of the United States ______________ ERIC ELDRED, ET. AL., Petitioners, v. JOHN D. ASHCROFT, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent ______________ On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit _____________ BRIEF OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW PROFESSORS AS AMICI CURIAE SUPPORTING PETITIONERS _____________ Jonathan Weinberg Counsel of Record Wayne State University 471 West Palmer Street Detroit, Michigan 48202 (313) 577-3942 i TABLE OF CONTENTS Table Of Contents ................................................................................i Table Of Authorities ..........................................................................iii Interests Of Amici Curiae .................................................................. 1 Introduction......................................................................................... 1 Background: The Legislative History of the Copyright Term Extension Act ....................................................................... 3 Summary Of Argument ..................................................................... 7 Argument: I. The CTEA is beyond Congress’s power under the Copyright and Patent Clause............................................. 7 A. Congress has no power to enact legislation under the Copyright and Patent Clause unless that legislation promotes “the Progress of Science and useful Arts,” and it has no power to grant exclusive rights that extend beyond “limited Times” ............................................................................. 8 B. The extension of the terms of existing copyrights exceeds Congress’s power under the Copyright and Patent Clause .............................. 15 1. The extension does not encourage the creation of new works of authorship.......... 15 2. The CTEA does not harmonize U.S. copyright terms with Europe’s and, in fact, heightens the disparity between some copyright terms ................................... 16 3. The CTEA is not justified by an increase in the commercial life of copyrighted works............................................................... 19 II. The CTEA violates the First Amendment ....................... 21 A. Copyright laws restrict speech ................................. 21 1. Harper & Row did not hold that copyright laws were immune from First Amendment scrutiny ......................... 24 2. The idea/expression distinction does ii not immunize copyright from First Amendment scrutiny .................................. 26 3. Characterizing copyright as a property rights regime does not immunize it from First Amendment scrutiny................ 27 B. The CTEA cannot survive First Amendment scrutiny ......................................................................... 29 Conclusion ......................................................................................... 30 iii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences v. Creative House Promotions Inc., 944 F.2d 1446 (9th Cir. 1991) ............... 18 Associated Press v. NLRB, 301 U.S. 103 (1937)................................. 28 Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514 (2000) ........................................... 26 Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665 (1982) .......................................... 28 City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997)..................................... 11 Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971) ............................................. 27 Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730 (1989)........................................................................................... 17 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Inc. v. Scoreboard Posters, Inc., 600 F.2d 1184 (5th Cir 1979) ....................................................... 28 Deep South Packing Co. v. Laitram Corp., 406 U.S. 518 (1972) ........ 11 Eldred v. Reno, 239 F.3d 372 (D.C. Cir. 2001) ..........................passim Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc., 194 F.3d 1211 (11th Cir. 1999).................................................................... 18 Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service, 499 U.S. 340 (1991).......................................................................................... 8, 9 Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc., 510 U.S. 517 (1994) ...................................... 9 Fox Film Corp. v. Doyal, 286 U.S. 123 (1932)...................................... 9 Frederick Warne & Co. v. Book Sales, Inc., 481 F. Supp. 1191 (S.D.N.Y. 1979) ............................................ 21 Graham v. John Deere, 383 U.S. 1 (1966) ............................. 8, 9, 10, 15 Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539 (1985) .......passim Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group, 515 U.S. 557 (1995)............................................................................. 27 Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46 (1988)....................... 26 In re Worlds Finest Chocolate, Inc., 474 F.2d 1012 (C.C.P.A. 1973) ........................................................................... 21 L.L. Bean, Inc. v. Drake Publishers, 811 F.2d 26 (1st Cir. 1987)........ 28 Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137 (1803).......................... 10 iv Mazer v. Stein, 347 U.S. 201 (1954)..................................................... 8 New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)................. 23, 26 Railway Labor Executives' Ass'n v. Gibbons, 455 U.S. 457 (1982)...................................................................................... 10-11 Rogers v. Grimaldi, 875 F.2d 994 (2d Cir. 1989)............................... 28 San Francisco Arts & Athletics, Inc. v. United States Olympic Committee, 483 U.S. 522 (1987) ................................... 29 Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of the N.Y. State Crime Victims Board, 502 U.S. 105 (1991).......................................................... 29 Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984) ........................................................... 9, 11, 12 South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S. 203 (1987) ........................................ 11 Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 (1990)........................................... 9, 11 Stowe v. Thomas, 23 F. Cas. 201 (C.C.E.D. Pa. 1853) (No. 13,514) ................................................................................. 15 Time, Inc. v. Hill, 385 U.S. 374 (1967)............................................... 26 Trade-Mark Cases, 100 U.S. 82 (1879) ................................................. 8 Turner Broadcasting System v. FCC, 512 U.S. 622 (1994).... 28, 29, 30 Twentieth Century Music v. Aiken, 422 U.S. 151 (1975) ................ 8, 9 United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995) ...................................... 11 United States v. Morrison, 529 U.S. 598 (2000)................................. 10 University of Pennsylvania v. EEOC, 493 U.S. 182 (1990)............... 28 Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781 (1989) .......................... 27 Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co., 433 U.S. 562 (1977)........................................................................................... 22 Constitution and statutes: U.S. Const., art I, § 8, cl. 3................................................................. 11 U.S. Const., art I, § 8, cl. 7................................................................. 11 U.S. Const., art I, § 8, cl. 8.........................................................passim U.S. Const., amendment 1........................................................passim An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, § 1, 1 Stat. 124 v (1790)............................................................................................ 13 Berne Convention Implementation Act §7, 102 Stat. 2853 (1988)........................................................................................... 13 Copyright Act of March 4, 1909, § 9, 35 Stat. 1075, repealed by Pub.L. No. 94-553, 90 Stat. 2541 (1976) .............................. 13 Copyright Act of 1976, § 302, Pub.L. No. 94-553, 90 Stat. 2541 (1976)................................................................................... 13 Copyright Renewal Act of 1992, Pub. L. No. 102-307, 106 Stat. 264 (codified as amended in 17 U.S.C. § 304)......................... 13 Lanham Trademark Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051-1127....... 21 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, Pub. L. No. 105-298, 112 Stat. 2827(1998)............................................................passim 17 U.S.C. § 101 ................................................................................... 27 17 U.S.C. § 103 (b).............................................................................. 20 17 U.S.C. § 106(2)............................................................................... 27 17 U.S.C. § 201 ................................................................................... 14 17 U.S.C. § 201(b)............................................................................... 17 17 U.S.C. § 302 ................................................................................... 14 17 U.S.C. § 302(a)............................................................................... 16 17 U.S.C. § 302(c).............................................................................. 17 17 U.S.C. § 304 ............................................................................. 14, 17 Legislative and administrative materials: