Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Copyright Term Extension Act

In a ringing victory for current and future copyright holders, the U.S. Supreme Court said Congress acted constitutionally in 1998 when it extended copyright protection from 50 to 70 years for most works. The Court's 7-2 ruling in Eldred v. Ashcroft was immediately attacked on Internet sites where online publishers and others had fought hard to break copyright protection and place more materials into the public domain.