“He who receives an idea from me,” wrote Thomas Jefferson, “receives instruction himself without lessening mine.” When it came to land, Jefferson was a fierce defender of private ownership; but intellectual property, he believed, belonged to the public. However, in drafting the Constitution, Jefferson lost out to the pragmatist James Madison, and so creators were granted exclusive copyrights to their works for limited times.
Yesterday, the ghosts of Jefferson and Madison squared off before the Supreme Court in the case of Eldred v. Ashcroft; the plaintiff challenging Congress’ power to extend copyrights: the tyranny of private interest over public access to creative works. Intellectual property rights versus the public domain.
Guests:
Edward Lee, professor of law at Ohio State University College of Law, and attorney for the plaintiffs in Eldred v. Ashcroft
Robert Clarida, partner with Cowan, Liebowitz & Latham and counsel for the American Intellectual Property Law Association
Michael Strunsky, trustee of the Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Family Trust