[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 36 (Thursday, March 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      COPYRIGHT TERM EXTENSION ACT

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                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 25, 1998

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2589) to 
     amend the provisions of title 17, United States Code, with 
     respect to the duration of copyright, and for other purposes:

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 2589, the ``Copyright Term Extension Act of 1997'' and of the 
Sensenbrenner amendment.
  H.R. 2589 will extend existing U.S. copyrights for another 20 years. 
It will also align U.S. copyright laws with those in many European 
nations and in so doing prevent American creations from falling into 
the public domain while the works of authors in other countries are 
still being protected.
  H.R. 2589 will benefit our nation's authors, songwriters, and other 
copyright holders who would enjoy 20 or more years of ownership rights 
and profits from their works. It is important that we recognize the 
contributions of our artistic community in this way. Artists who are 
talented or fortunate enough to see their work released to the public 
are entitled to retain control over that work, or at the very least 
continue to share in the financial benefits associated with it. This 
basic principle of copyright law becomes no less valid because a time 
limit set decades ago expires.
  Our rapidly developing society means that information--and in fact 
the artistic properties we deal with in this matter--are readily 
accessible and exploited once in the public domain. This bill 
adequately strikes a balance between the interests of the creators and 
of the consumers of artistic works.
  I support any effort here to ensure better compensation of those 
artists who do not currently benefit from the collective bargaining 
agreement struck in the early 1960's. Of course we must respect that 
agreement and its limitations, but we must also provide for fair 
compensation of those artists whose work brings great profits to the 
copyright holders.
  I also urge support for the Sensenbrenner amendment which will 
protect small businesses from the ``double dipping'' that would occur 
if small businesses had to pay fees already paid by radio and 
television stations. The amendment will not exempt small businesses 
from fees for playing compact discs or other recorded music. This 
amendment will protect our small--and often minority--businesses from 
the crushing burden of payment of these fees.

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