Facing the music: The restoration of copyright

The case of Golan v Ashcroft [(2004) No. 01-B-1854] has just been recently heard in the United States District Court of Colorado. In this case, the conductor Lawrence Golan and other artists launched a constitutional challenge against the validity of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act 1998 (US) and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act 1994 (US). The plaintiffs maintained that the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act 1998 (US) was unconstitutional because it violated the requirement that copyright be for 'limited times' under the Copyright Clause. They also argued that section 514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act 1994 (US) was unconstitutional because the restoration of copyright works does not promote progress as required by the Copyright Clause, abridges speech in violation of the First Amendment and violates due process by depriving the public of the free availability of public domain works.