Mickey Mouse Curve

A nice graphic showing how copyright terms have evolved over the years. Back in 1810 for example, copyright term lasted just under 30 years. Period. The original term (not shown on the graph) was 14 years. Just after 1830, it was increased to over 40 years, but it also was retroactive back to works created in 1818. Look ahead to today, the Sonny Bono Act increased it to 105 years backdated to 1978 and 95 years backdated to 1923.

Do we really need to protect works for that long? Disney seems to think so. The latest copyright extensions protect Mickey's Steamboat Willie clip until at least 2023!