WASHINGTON – In a surprise move, the US Supreme Court has ruled that Koch Industries has exclusive rights to the term ‘copyright’© and its use in all forms of expression.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority ruling, which requires anyone using copyright© to get written permission from Koch Industries and to pay a fee of ten cents each time the term is used.
The Court found that “Koch Industries came up with the term copyright© a few months before the 1787 Copyright© Clause of the Constitution. It is therefore entirely theirs, as is the Clause in the Constitution.” The Court’s ruling, which used the word ‘copyright’© 450 times ended with a note thanking Koch Industries for licensing the word to the court and giving him permission to write the ruling.
Legal analysts were quick to explain the implications for public and private life.
“The contemporary intent of copyrights© have been used to give creators credit for their works” said CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin. “But if I use the term copyright© as a verb or as a noun in everyday speech, I would be violating copyright© law. Could we hurry this interview up? I already owe the Koch industry 30 cents and I didn’t get their permission.”
