Brad DeLong pens a “Platonic Dialogue on Eldred v. Ashcroft“, considering how the Supreme Court might rule on the case challenging Congress’s extension of the length of copyrights. Conclusion:
| The court won’t overturn the copyright extension. They won’t use the chainsaw. But they will take the chainsaw out of the garage and make sure its fuel tank is full. Its opinion will mean, “Congress, there are some limits, somewhere, to your copyright power.” It will mean, “Disney, you’ve bought your last copyright extension.” It will mean, “Congress, next time find someone more serious than Sonny Bono to lead the issue.” It will mean, “We’re not going to tell you where the line is exactly — that would be dicta, and we hate dicta, except when we don’t — but we are telling you that if you move to extend copyright again, you first need to ask yourselves the Clint Eastwood question: ‘Do you feel lucky?'” |
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