Josh Hawley's attempt to strip Disney's copyrights "blatantly unconstitutional"

[Tanuki]

https://variety.com/2022/politics/news/hawley-copyright-disney-1235263563/

"Sen. Josh Hawley introduced a bill on Tuesday that aims to revoke Disney’s copyrights, as Republicans are seeking to outdo each other in attacking the “woke” corporation.

Hawley’s bill would dramatically rewrite U.S. copyright law, shortening the total term available to all copyright holders going forward by several decades. It would also seek to retroactively limit Disney’s copyrights, effectively stripping the company of much of its intellectual property, in a move that would face several legal obstacles.

“That is a blatantly unconstitutional taking of property without compensation,” said Prof. Paul Goldstein, an intellectual property expert at Stanford Law School."....(more)

[OnDoutside]

1. I'd like to see where Disney's donor money went on Jan 1st and

where it's going now. That would be instructive about how to feel about them.

[Eugene]

13. Disney donated (past tense) majority GOP/conservative by a wide margin.

Now they have stopped donating altogether.

$190k to Florida Republicans while they were concocting the bill. That's what upset Disney's employees.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/11/disney-donation-florida-republicans-00024417

For a 2020 example, $10 million to Trump's America First PAC vs $1 million for the Biden campaign per Open Secrets.

https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/walt-disney-co/summary?id=d000000128

[Farmer-Rick]

32. So, now they are getting

What they paid for.

What? Who would have thought GOPers and TFG would attack the donors that feed them? It's not just Disney they will do this to.

[OnDoutside]

37. Well that's a positive I guess, although I'd have thought they would want to smash the GOP

for breaking what they had going.

[TheBlackAdder]

21. The Republicans speak of the First Amendment, but find ways to use gov't as a club to punish.

.



.

[hadEnuf]

34. Most smashable face award....

[Irish_Dem]

2. Now that corporate oligarchs are GOP targets, wonder what they will do.

Fold or fight.

[tanyev]

3. Good question.

I was surprised how thoroughly the GOP folded for Trump. Not because I thought they had more moral fiber, but I thought those with an established power base would resist a blithering moron trying to take over the party. Nope.

One easy thing a lot of corporations could do is just STOP.GIVING.REPUBLICANS.MONEY.

[Irish_Dem]

7. The US oligarchs know that they have to comply or lose their wealth.

So I think they have no choice but to fold.

[Delmette2.0]

25. And eventually they will lose just like the Russian Oligarchs.

I don't think the world will sit back and wait 20 some years to figure it out, like we all did with Putin.

[Escurumbele]

27. I don't think so, they have the money, all they have to do is wise up and start giving the money

to the party that will not destroy them. Democrats may impose some regulations, but far from destroying them.

[Irish_Dem]

29. In an autocracy the dictator controls the money

[Cracklin Charlie]

8. It's probably a fake fight.

Designed to fill one or the other’s coffers.

I don’t trust either side.

[Irish_Dem]

9. Yep, Hawley is angling for a huge bribe. I mean "contribution."

[Sympthsical]

19. It's an intraparty fight

The social conservative Right has banged the "woke corporations" drum for quite a few years now. However, the Establishment Right has always been very corporate friendly. No matter what they did when placed in power in Washington, they always made sure those corporate benefits and tax cuts got done.

With Trump, a schism formed. The NeverTrumpers became seen as a professional class who didn't really care about conservative social issues. They merely pretended to in order to get elected and maintain power. Much of the conservative media class is also seen through this lens. If you look at NeverTrumpers political views, they're dripping with disdain for social conservatives, and their commentary and associations have become much more liberal since they were functionally sidelined by Trump's ascendancy and the wing of the party that became enamored with him. The Lincoln Project is probably the most extreme form of this transition. Where hard core right-wingers, who committed many hard core right-wing things in the past, are suddenly very comfortable saying things that aren't out of place in any liberal gathering.

Trump kind of shoved that professional class out of the party, and many of these NeverTrumpers went to where they could better butter their bread. Look at Bill Kristol's horror at the possibility of Roe being overturned. Bill. Kristol. Or Steve Schmidt complaining about Alito. You know, the guy who lead the charge to get Alito on the court.

So the social Right, the true believers in social conservatism, have been very keen to push harder on these issues now that they perceive they no longer need to be held back by these "secret social liberals of the D.C. professional class."

People like Hawley and DeSantis are pandering hard to them, because they see in them a path to the presidential nomination very similar to Trump's. Just get that core of a very devoted base on your side, and you can become the next leader of the party.

Trump's star is very much fading. This hard push on culture war stuff is basically the battle for succession.

[msfiddlestix]

22. Very interesting analysis. I had in someways looked at all of this with similar perspective..

but more often i have found them to be confusing. It seemed to me the over reach has been so extreme and enabled by the established "leadership" who should have always known better for their own re-election fortunes. I get mental whiplash trying to figure them out.

[Sympthsical]

28. One thing that I think would surprise people on our side

We hate Mitch McConnell with the passion of a thousand supernovae.

So does the Trump Right.

They see him as the protector of the corporate class, a man who only pretends to take on the mantle of the social Right, but who mainly preoccupies himself with the health and wealth of the party's corporate donors.

It kind of used to be that major Republicans had to possess a patina of social respectability. Dubya was very adamant about not blaming Muslims for 9/11. Romney seemed hurt and confused when people said he didn't promote women. No matter their economic or foreign policies, they had this kind of center right line they were always straddling so as to render themselves at least vaguely palatable to the American middle. This political class didn't hang out in the sticks and attend the Friday night hoe down. They were patricians who wined and dined and befriended other patricians. The hicks were just who they played to.

Post-Trump social conservatives do not care about that line. To them, Romney and Bush are pretty much just corporate friendly social liberals. They see McConnell as operating out of pure pretense. They call it "failure theater" where McConnell brings up votes to repeal the ACA, but he never seriously gave it a go. It was a show for social conservatives.

I'm not saying that is McConnell's motives. I'm just saying that's how the social Right sees it.

People like Hawley and DeSantis do not care what we think. They don't even pretend to care if we understand why they do what they do. As long as the base gets it, then they're good. The New Republicans know they don't need to win by a landslide. They need only get just enough of that fired up base and whatever votes around the periphery they can grab either out of disaffection, apathy, suppression, or fraud.

As Trump has showed us, you can win without being liked. You can come damn close to winning again, even if you're actively hated.

[msfiddlestix]

36. Spot on..

Aptly put in all regards.

The point on Trump supporters views on McConnell is very interesting. And though I've read similar analysis, it's easy to forget that trumpsters hate Corporate Elite as much as I do. Yet, I'm galaxies away from them in every conceivable measure.

I think that's why I feel like these people are actually "aliens" from another planet.

Seriously though, it's important to have an understanding of the various and conflicting attitudes in play.

[AllaN01Bear]

4. they r republicans . they dont give a hoot hoot hoot. what else is new.

[Lovie777]

5. The GQP don't respect the Constitution . ...

[Ferrets are Cool]

6. This is so fucking stupid that Disney will not even wake up one of their lawyers to read the "bill".

[C_U_L8R]

10. Republicans are obviously anti-business

Pretty much anti-everything, except self-promotion and grift.

[RAB910]

11. this fucking anti-American Nazi should be in jail for his attempted government overthrow

not at the seat of power

[edhopper]

12. What is Constitutional

is up to the Supreme Court. And they have a different idea than what we would consider constitutional.

Precedent and history no longer have a bearing on their decisions.

[bronxiteforever]

24. +100 Absolutely

[Paladin]

14. Yale Law didn't teach Hawley much about the Constitution.

Least surprising news of the day (so far).

[Srkdqltr]

15. Just Disneys? Or will this be for all copyrights?

I can't imagine Disney is going to do nothing.

[empedocles]

16. Constitutionality, irrevelamt to Hawley's purpose.

[Javaman]

17. I'm certainly no fan of the sidious hawley...

disney has lived large on the extension of their copy-writed material. the article below is from 2013

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2013/10/25/15-years-ago-congress-kept-mickey-mouse-out-of-the-public-domain-will-they-do-it-again/

15 years ago, Congress kept Mickey Mouse out of the public domain. Will they do it again?

>snip<

Longer and longer

Today, copyrights can easily last for more than a century. Things were very different when America was founded. In America's original copyright system, protection only lasted for 28 years. By the mid-20th century, Congress had doubled the maximum term to 56 years. Then, in 1976, Congress overhauled the copyright system. Instead of fixed terms with a maximum of 56 years of protection, individual authors were granted protection for their life plus an additional 50 years, an approach that had become the norm in Europe. For works authored by corporations—Hollywood blockbusters, for example—copyright terms were extended to 75 years.

The 1976 legislation granted a retroactive extension for works published before the new system took effect. The maximum term for already-published works was lengthened from 56 years to 75 years. That meant that any work that was still under copyright in 1978, when the new system took effect, was eligible for an additional 19 years of protection. Without the term extension, works published between 1922 and 1941 would have fallen into the public domain between 1978 and 1997.

Instead, those works remained under copyright, providing a windfall to the owners of iconic copyrighted works such as the original Mickey Mouse cartoon, "Steamboat Willie," and George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." When the 1990s arrived, the holders of those older copyrights began agitating for another extension. Copyrighted works from the 1920s were scheduled to begin falling into the public domain again in 1998, and copyright interests wanted Congress to stop that from happening.

more at link...

[Best_man23]

18. Disney is like a velociraptor when it comes to protecting its intellectual property

I don't think they've woken any of their corporate lawyers or lobbyists yet to go after Howley because (for now) such a bill has little to no chance of getting out of committee. If this bill were to begin to gain traction, you can bet Disney and other IP "velociraptors" like Microsoft and Monsanto would start pushing back.

[DonCoquixote]

20. OK, we know they are doing this for evil reasons, but

A side effect of this is that Disney blatantly wrecked eminent domain on properties for the sole reason of making sure Mickey Mouse could never, ever fall into Public Domain.

https://lucentem.com/2018/12/05/disney-vs-the-public-domain-how-mickey-mouse-continues-to-protect-his-copyright/

&t=1s

IF this goes through, the side effect is that Disney will lose BIG, because frankly, many of their properties, such as Marvel comics, or even Star Wars, are close to the point where they could become publics domain if it was nto for that trick then Senator Sonny Bono did.


OF COURSE, LET ME CAPITALIZE THIS, we know that the GOP
A) is trying to make companies afraid to hire Gays, and eventually everyone else they want to crush within their boots

B) is probably going to use this to make sure that they can steal some properties for their own use, the way candidates try to steal music from artists that hate their guts, needing the Artists to break out the lawyers just to ensure the music they wrote about how much the GOP sucks does not become some GOP's campaign theme.

and C)

To ensure they can use this leverage to make culture white and dull as ever. Bye BYE any hero or heroine that is not white and Christian.

So, while we know there is evil behind this, we cannot forget the Mouse was feeding these gop bastards.

[cbabe]

23. Hawley is copyright thief

Repost: Pot/Kettle: Hawley is copyright thief: Politico says to stop using their photo of him raising his fist at the capital coup.

Hawley is defying the law and continues to use/steal the photo.

Every accusation is a confession.

[Escurumbele]

26. Corporation better wise up and read some contemporary history from other countries

That is exactly what the Chavez regime did in Venezuela, they courted businesses up and until they got the power they were seeking, suddenly they made a 180 turn and started attacking, appropriating businesses and corporations.

Corporations, republicans are not your friends, they will destroy you when they feel it is appropriate and convenient for them.

What makes people believe in these republican assholes? Do people have short memory? They see them attacking people who helped them in the past, corporations that help them in the past. Their lack of loyalty is a daily show with these republican thugs...what is it that people do not see?

[Takket]

31. More grand standing for the MAGA base. Supporting over the top bills they know will never pass

[dlk]

33. It's what fascists do...

n/t

[malthaussen]

35. I always thought the GOP held property to be sacred.

This would seem to demonstrate that for the radical wing, nothing is sacred.

-- Mal