Names
reClaim Copyright
The campaign description
Feel free to edit an existing proposal, or to start a completely new one if you really feel that existing ones are hopeless or need major changes.
The original text
Copyright terms have been continually extended since they were passed into English law by the Statute of Queen Anne. As these monopoly rights have grown, so the public domain has shrunk, greatly reducing our access to creative works, condemning vast quantities of our culture to obscurity and disappearance, and limiting the opportunities for future creators to build upon the works of the past.
This would invigorate the public domain, increasing access to creative work, increasing the potential for creative reuse and deepening our engagement with our own culture.
Tom's proposal
Big business wants to extend copyright from 50 to 95 years on music recordings. Ever since copyright was passed into English law almost 300 years ago these monopoly rights have been continually extended, greatly reducing our access to creative works. We don't believe there is a sound case for the extensions, and are worried that the debate has been dominated for decades by those clamouring for more control over culture. So we're campaigning to stop the extensions and put creative freedom at the centre of the debate.