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[The prepared statement of Mr. Dylan follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF BOB DYLAN

My name is Bob Dylan and song writing is my profession. Allow me to express myself concerning the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1995.

My first song was published by Witmark Music in 1961. My status at the time was 20 years old, unmarried, with no children. My situation changed to include a wife and family and the writing of many more songs.

The impression given to me was that a composer's songs would remain in his or her family and that they would, one day, be the property of the children and their children after them. It never occurred to me that these songs would fall into the pubic domain while my children are still in the prime of their lives, and while my grandchildren are still teenagers or young adults. Yet this is exactly what will occur if H.R.989 is not enacted.

Our current term of copyright is a flat 75 years for works written prior to 1978, and life plus 50 years for works written on or after January 1, 1978. This term is significantly shorter than the term of copyright adopted by the fifteen member nations of the European Union, the countries making up the European Economic Area and the numerous other countries which will be changing their copyright laws to provide for a term of life of the author plus 70 years.

The discrepancy between the term of protection offered to American creators and the term of protection offered to European creators is particularly striking. European audiences have always enthusiastically welcomed American popular musicians. They buy our records, they play our music over the airways, and they attend our concerts, often in sell-out crowds. And yet, due to the application of the rule of the shorter term, our works will cease to be protected long before European works of comparable age. The enactment of H.R.989 will go a long way towards equalizing the playing field for American and European works and rectifying the injustice to American creators.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Henley follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF DON HENLEY

Dear Chairman Moorhead, Members of the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, and distinguished members of Congress:

My name is Don Henley. I am a songwriter, music publisher and recording artist.
I appreciate the opportunity to express my support for H.R. 989, the Copyright Term
Extension Act of 1995.

You have heard many compelling arguments for the extension of the term of copyright protection for American intellectual property to match that of the European Union Directive of life plus 70 years. The members of the United States creative community have testified that this is a trade matter, an economic issue of vital importance to the American participation in the global marketplace. You've been told that our current laws create what is essentially a twenty-year free ride to the European Union - they can use and abuse our works for free, while we have to pay for the use of theirs. You've also heard about the questionable real value to the people of public domain material. It is all this, but it is very much more.

On a daily basis, I wear many hats. I care passionately about the preservation of our dwindling wilderness areas, and I have devoted a great portion of my life and my life's work to make sure that a respect for the land and the protection of our environment is a part of the legacy we leave our children. We have found that in order to foster this respect and protection, it has been necessary to enact laws. Many of you are acquainted with me in this role.

I am, however, first and foremost, an artisan, except my tools are words and melodies instead of brushes and canvas. I cut, shape, refine, and position each word and each note until I have crafted a song that I believe is true. My songs are an expression of who I am and what I stand for, and the laws which govern the results of my endeavors demand that people respect my work. The copyright law provides me with the right to protect my work from those who would otherwise compromise its integrity, who would exploit, abuse and mutilate my art. I do not allow my songs to be used in conjunction with advertising commercials, and I am extremely selective about other ancillary uses of my music in films and other projects. The law gives me this right, but only for a limited time.

No one would question my right to prevent someone from painting graffiti on my house or from stealing its contents. No one would question my right to benefit from its value or to ensure that my heirs benefit from its value. And if I were to

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July 7, 1995

design and build a house, instead of a song, I could own this house and would have the right to protect it throughout my lifetime. I would be able to pass this along to my children, and it would be theirs to pass to their children and so forth.

But I don't make houses or other tangible property. I just make songs, and they can only belong to me and my family for a limited time. I can't erect a fence around my kind of property to defend against trespassers. As a creator of intellectual property, I must rely on the law for protection, both economic and artistic.

As much as I believe that we are inextricably connected to one another in our individual and collective impact on the global environment, I also believe ours has become a global economy, and American creators should be accorded at least as favorable a protection at law as creators in other countries. We cannot chastise countries which do no provide as high a level of copyright protection as is provided under American law, when American law does not provide as high a level of protection as laws in other western countries, such as the European Community.

I urge you to pass H.R. 989, to extend the maximum protection to American intellectual property, to encourage the creative minds in America to continue to produce the songs, the plays, the books, the films, the photographs, the designs, the software the art that inspires the world.

Thank you.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Menken follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF ALAN MENKEN, COMPOSER

I am sorry I can't be with you today to discuss the Copyright Term Extension Act in person. However, the terms of the proposed act are very important to me both professionally and personally and I want to take this opportunity to make my position clear to the Members of the House.

You may know me as the composer of Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. I have made my living as a composer since my first musical-theatre shows God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater and Little Shop of Horrors and I've been fortunate enough to have received many awards for my work including six Academy Awards and nine Grammy's. While recognition of one's work is always gratifying, I am very concerned that the copyright protection of my work and the interests of my family receive the maximum possible protection.

The basic theory of copyright duration is that protection should exist for the life of the author and two succeeding generations. The life-plus-50 year term no longer offers that protection due to increased life expectancy and the tendency to have children later in life. On July 1, 1995 the European Union will adopt a uniform term of copyright equal to life of the author plus 70 years. Because of the application of the rule of the shorter term, American authors will not benefit from the extended term unless we enact copyright term extension legislation.

The 20-year term extension is a modest proposal which will bring us in line with The European Union. I strongly urge you to join your colleagues in support of H.R. 989.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Sondheim follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF STEPHEN SONDHEIM

To whom it may concern

As a working songwriter, former

president and current council member of the Dramatists Guild and member of AmSong, I am committed to the protection of U.S.

copyrights, and so I regret that I am unable to attend the July 13, 1995 Hearing to voice my support for H.R. 989.

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The current term of copyright fixed period of 75 years for pre-1978 works and life plus 50 years for works written on or after January 1, 1978 - no longer protects American creators for a reasonable period of time. All too often works have been falling into the public domain during the author's lifetime (e.g., Irving Berlin) or the lifetime of the author's immediate successors, which is contrary to the intent of our copyright laws. H.R. 989 reflects the reality that life expectancy has increased by at least 20 years.

The countries of Europe, and nearly every other civilized country, implement a copyright term of life of the author plus

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