The Sonny Bono copyright term extension law has resulted a torrent of creativity output, right?
Leaping out of his grave at Rockville cemetery, F. Scott Fitzgerald has just pulled off some new Hollywood deals to make up for his past failures. Brad’s Reader and PW have the details.
The real joke in this case: It’s on Hollywood. Without Bono, might the Fitzgerald properties be free?
The bigger picture: Studios want to protect their own copyrights and mice, so they’d point out that the small-n net from Bono is larger than without it. Still, many public interest types would also argue that creativity suffers in the end since less fodder is out there for adaptations.
In the U.S., thanks to Bono, terms are the life of the writer plus 70 years. Terms on corporate properties can run as long as 120 years after creation.
Related: The not-so-heavy representation of writers on an Aussie digital publishing task force (post from Kate Eltham).
