Orrin Hatch: “Congress has in recent years passed many significant copyright measures, but it is a rare occasion when we address the…”

“Congress has in recent years passed many significant copyright measures, but it is a rare occasion when we address the fundamental aspects of copyright protection, such as the nature of the works protected, the scope of rights recognized, or the duration of copyright. Still, from time to time, it becomes clear that fundamental change is needed. I believe we are now at such a point with respect to the question of whether the current term of copyright adequately protects the interests of authors and the related question of whether the term of protection continues to provide a sufficient incentive for the creation of new works of authorship. The current term of copyright is, in my view, inadequate to perform its historic functions of spurring creativity and protecting authors. Thus, I am filing today the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1995, which has the general purpose of increasing existing copyright terms by the addition of a further 20 years of protection. I am pleased to be joined in this effort by my colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Feinstein of California and Senator Thompson of Tennessee.”