This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in the
seminal case of *Golan v.
Holder<http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/golan-v-holder/>
.* Striking a significant blow to the strength and stability of the public
domain, the Court upheld a law that took a considerable number of foreign
works out of the public domain and placed them back under copyright
protection.
This important decision underscores the extent of the power Congress has to
decide and control what information is available to the public.
Furthermore, this decision demonstrates the reasons we cannot rely on the
Court alone to defend our access to knowledge.
In the face of this disappointing news, we are all reminded to speak up
when Congress acts against the public good.
Today, the Wikipedia community has taken a strong and united
stand<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page%3Fbanner=blackout>against
SOPA <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act> and
PIPA<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIPA>PA>,
legislation that are also attacks on free knowledge and an open Internet.
Today, we say ‘Enough’ to Congress.
*FAQ*
*What is the Golan v. Holder case*?
In 1994, as part of the Uruguay Round Agreements, Congress passed a law in
a misguided attempt to reconcile U.S. and foreign copyright by taking works
out of the U.S. public domain that were still under copyright in their
source country. The case was brought by re-users of the works previously in
the public domain: educators, community orchestras, and artists who relied
on the freely available works for their own projects and could no longer
use those works because of the law.
In a 6-2 decision, the Court in *Golan *held that the U.S. Constitution
does not prevent Congress from “restoring” copyright to works previously in
the public domain. Justice Stephen Breyer, in his dissent joined by
Justice Samuel Alito, noted that the purpose of copyright is to incentivize
authors and artists to create new works, but “[t]he statute before [the
Court], however, does not encourage anyone to produce a single new work.”
*Why is this case important?*
Today’s decision marks the first time that the Court has ever indicated
that Congress not only has the power to extend the life of a copyright, but
take works out of the public domain and place them back under copyright
protection. Works like Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” Sergei Prokofiev’s
“Peter and the Wolf,” and J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” have been taken out
of the public domain as a result of this law and this decision. This newly
declared power that Congress now wields threatens the stability of the
public domain and puts those who rely on it at risk.
*Why does this matter to Wikipedia or other Wikimedia projects?*
* *
Wikimedia projects are some of the largest repositories of public domain
material in the world. The projects are a gateway for millions of users to
access free knowledge and information that they would never otherwise see.
Those repositories shrink as a result of today’s decision.
*Where can I find the full decision?*
The full decision can be found at :
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-545.pdf
However, please note that the Supreme Court’s website seems to be having
some problems today and the link above may not be functioning properly.
Wired.com also has the full decision available at:
http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2012/01/golanscotusruling.pdf
*I don’t want this to happen again! What can I do to fight SOPA and PIPA?*
* *
Call your Senators and Representative and tell them you oppose SOPA and
PIPA. If you need help finding out who your Congressional representatives
are, you can simply type in your zip code
here<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page%3Fbanner=blackout>ut>.
Alternatively, you can look up who your Senators are
here<http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm&…
who your Representative is
here <http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/>.
--
Michelle Paulson
Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
149 New Montgomery Street, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
mpaulson(a)wikimedia.org
415.839.6885 ext. 6608 (Office)
415.882.0495 (Fax)
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