Comment by mwfunk

I wonder if copyright extensions are exhibit A for the negative impact of money on politics. Copyright holders have a motivation to lobby for extensions but no big players have a motivation to lobby against them. Hence, both US parties are weirdly on board with continually extending the reach of copyright and IP laws in general. If there were no invisible hand constantly guiding politicians toward extending copyright, surely at least some politicians would have different views on it. It doesn’t help that it’s an issue that is so opaque to the general population, so there’s no popular opposition to it either. I love the EFF but when it comes to money and lobbying power they are much less influential over elected officials than the combined powers of most of the entertainment industries plus much of the tech industry.