The Supreme Court Hearing Oral Arguments in Eldred v. Ashcroft What will Happen to Steamboat Willie? © CHRISTINE Q. MCLEOD, 2002

Steamboat Willie, made in 1928, is a Walt Disney animated cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse. It was the first cartoon with a synchronized soundtrack. The film has been close to entering the public domain several times; each time, copyright protection in the United States has been extended, most recently by the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act.

However, on October 9, 2002, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a suit aimed at overturning the retroactive extension of the copyright term under the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act. The Act, passed on Oct. 27, 1998 when President Clinton, urged on by Disney who was about to lose rights to its Mickey Mouse copyright, passed a law that extended copyright protection for an additional 20 years. The previous law, passed in 1978, protected an author's work for 50 years after an author died, while works for hire -- such as Mickey Mouse -- were protected for 75 years. The Act extended both categories by two decades and, in essence, saved Steamboat Willie.

At issue is whether Congress -- with the constitutional authority to issue copyrights and patents "for limited times" to "promote the progress of science and useful arts" -- overstepped its bounds by passing the Bono Act.

Briefing began in May of this year when Lawrence Lessig, Harvard law professor and counsel for the challengers, filed the Opening Brief of Petitioners. The challenger’s position was supported by numerous Amicus Briefs filed by organizations such as the Free Software Foundation, Intel, and the Internet Archive. Defenders of the Act followed suit with even more Amicus Briefs in support of the Act, including the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Artists Coalition. Dr. Seuss joined in the crowd in order to retain rights in the infamous Cat in the Hat.

No one knows exactly when a decision will be handed down by the Court nor is there a set time period in which the Justices must reach a decision. We will continue to watch for the decision, along with Steamboat Willie, the Cat and the Hat, Stuart Little, and their friends.