The Law: Righting Copyright

Only one thing is impossible for God: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet .. . Whenever a copyright law is to be made or altered, then the idiots assemble. —Mark Twain

Perhaps in fear of Twain's acerbic observation, none of the usual Senators, Congressmen and other worthies gathered last week when President Ford quietly signed into law a broad, new and long-overdue revision of U.S. copyright legislation. So old was the last law (1909) that if it could have been copyrighted, the copyright would have been due to expire...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!