Wednesday, October 09, 2002

Andy writes:

John sent me this exchange from the AP about Eldred. I'm afraid Olson got the better of this exchange, and I bet Olson gets the better of Lessig today. The bottom line is that Lessig's argument that he disagrees with Congress, and that public good is being sacrificed, is doomed to failure. The only hope for success is that Thomas or Scalia picks up on the principles in our brief, which are ignored by Lessig.

From AP story:
Erik S. Jaffe, a Washington attorney who filed a friend-of-the-court brief, said Congress could keep extending the copyright protection forever, even though creators have been adequately paid for their inventions.

"It's like the last mortgage note is to be paid, and the bank says, 'No, you've got another 20 years,'" Jaffe said.

Solicitor General Theodore Olson told the court in a filing that Congress has been conservative with its extensions. He said "there is no basis for courts to second-guess Congress' determinations."

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