Patchen Haggerty was quoted in the World IP Review* article, "From Here to Eternity—A Copyright Conundrum," regarding UNESCO ambassador Jean-Michel Jarre's proposal for “eternal copyright.” 

“The power for authors to secure, for a limited time, the exclusive right to their works is the basis for US copyright law,” Patchen says.

In her view, the idea would undermine the fundamental purpose of copyright, at least as it is envisioned in the US: the granting of a limited monopoly, in support of the artist, in exchange for a donation to the public domain at the end of the term of protection.

“Perpetual copyright terms as proposed would stifle creativity and regress the progress of the arts by cutting off public access to creative works upon expiration of the copyright term,” she argues.

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