The Supreme Court's decision in Eldred v. Ashcroft told us we'd have to take our case to Congress to reclaim for public use the vast quantity of art and literature under copyright but out of print. The draft Public Domain Enhancement Act would help do that by requiring copyright holders to pay a nominal fee 50 years after publication.

Under this proposed Act, copyright holders still commercially exploiting their copyrights could retain those copyrights, and would update the records telling others where to contact them for licensing. Works that copyright holders didn't value at even $1, however, would go into the public domain -- where others might find new ways to use them.

We think this Act would restore some of the public's copyright balance. If you agree, please consider signing the petition: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/eldred/petition.html.