Golan v. Holder

Summary

Justice Ginsburg’s opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Sotomayor, upheld §514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, which restored copyright protection to certain foreign works previously in the United States public domain. The Copyright Clause does not categorically prohibit protecting public-domain works, and Congress rationally could conclude that full participation in the international copyright system would promote knowledge and learning. Restoration also does not violate the First Amendment: the statute preserves the idea/expression distinction and fair use, and heightened scrutiny is unnecessary. Justice Breyer, joined by Justice Alito, dissented, reasoning that withdrawing existing works from the public domain restricts dissemination without providing a sufficient incentive for new creation, exceeding the Copyright Clause’s authority when interpreted in light of the First Amendment. Justice Kagan did not participate.