Eldred v. Ashcroft
Petitioners are a group of corporations, associations, and individuals whose businesses rely upon works that have entered the public domain after their copyright expired. Petitioners brought an action against the Attorney General challenging the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 as an unconstitutional exercise of congressional power and as violating the First Amendment. The district court found for respondents. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that (1) the CTEA is a proper exercise of the Congress's power under the Copyright Clause and (2) the CTEA did not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights.
Questions Presented:
1. Did the D.C. Circuit err in holding that Congress has the power under the Copyright Clause to extend retrospectively the term of existing copyrights?
2. Is a law that extends the term of existing and future copyrights ”categorically immune from challenge[] under the First Amendment”?
