IN ITS NEXT TERM, the Supreme Court will review the 2001 decision of the D. C. Circuit in Eldred v. Reno (now styled Eldred v. Ashcroft) (“Eldred”),[1]� which upheld the constitutionality of the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1988 (CTEA). The Supreme Court decision in Eldred is expected to set the standard for the exercise of congressional discretion under the Copyright Clause of the Constitution and to determine, in the context of the duration of copyright protection, whether First Amendment considerations are sufficiently accounted for by the idea/expression and fair use doctrines, as embodied in both the copyright statute and copyright jurisprudence.
This article will discuss the issues facing the Supreme Court in Eldred’s challenge to the constitutionality of the CTEA.[2]�
