But corporations build fortunes on copyright, and repeatedly pushed Congress to extend it, to the point that in the US it now lasts for 70 years after the creator’s death. (The 1998 legislation responsible for the last extension was nicknamed the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act” because it allowed the Walt Disney Company to retain copyright of its famous cartoon character.)
这段时间足够绝大多数著作人获得作品可能带来的绝大部分收入；之后，作品将进入公共领域。但版权是企业的获利基础，因此它们反复要求国会延长时限，现在美国已经延长到作者死后的70年。（最后一次延期的1998年法案绰号“米老鼠保护法”，因为法案允许沃尔特·迪斯尼公司保留其著名卡通人物的版权。）