Josh Hawley wants to punish Disney by taking copyright law back to 1909 and that sucks

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

I have been told to write about the new copyright bill, but I don't think I can do it. I like talking about copyright. I'll talk about it all day. And she does. The thought of giving this piece of legislation any attention is killing me on the inside, so writing this post is agony.

This bill is not serious. There isn't a line that is supposed to pass muster. It is an insult to the democratic process.

The bill is aimed at the Walt Disney Company.

a person that (i) has a market capitalization of more than $150,000,000,000; and (ii)(I) is classified under North American Industry Classification System code 5121 or 71; or (II) engages in substantial activities for which a code described in subclause (I) could be assigned.

The bill would set the copyright terms for all works at 28 years. The person in the room with a market cap of more than $150 billion is the owner of the copyrights. The intellectual property assets of Disney would be stripped back to Steamboat Willie.

The Copyright Act of 1909 had a 28-year term. The requirement for an application for an extension is an outdated legal formality that was abandoned by the Copyright Act of 1973, barred from future law when the United States signed onto the international copyright treaty known as the Berne Convention in 1988, and further precluded by a succession of trade agreements. A reduction of copyright terms to 28 years is not allowed by international law.

The bill is a joke. I think that Disney's activism toward that end is reprehensible, as I think that the last extension of copyright terms should have never been allowed. This bill is not intended to cause discussion or pass Congress.

Would you like to see the terms of the copyright reduced? Absolutely! I would like to see our representatives challenge corporations. Of course! Legislators should take big swings to push the window on tech policy. Yes!

He is copying his 1909 policy. He wants us to go back to hitting in buckets.

This isn't a radical rethinking of copyright. regression is a fart in the wind, an empty gesture meant for a future fundraising email. The Republican party's homophobia would not look out of place in 1909.

The level of effort involved in pushing bills has plummeted. He doesn't care, so he isn't even trying. You don't need to know anything about his bill.