Eric Eldred is an American activist and entrepreneur known for his involvement in copyright law reform. He was born on November 8, 1943, in Massachusetts, United States. Eldred became prominent for challenging the extension of copyright terms through legal battles and advocating for expanded access to public domain materials. In 1996, Eldred founded Eldritch Press, an online publishing company that aimed to make classic literary works available for free to the public. However, his efforts were hindered by the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, which extended copyright terms by 20 years. This prevented many works from entering the public domain and limited their availability to the general public. Eldred's activism gained significant attention when he filed a lawsuit against the United States government challenging the constitutionality of copyright term extensions. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court as Eldred v. Ashcroft in 2003. Unfortunately, he lost the case by a narrow margin of 7-2. Despite facing legal setbacks, Eric Eldred continued his advocacy work and co-founded Creative Commons in 2001. Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that provides free licenses allowing creators to share their work with flexible copyright terms. It aims to promote openness and innovation while still respecting intellectual property rights. Eric Eldred's efforts have made him a respected figure in the field of copyright law reform and intellectual property rights activism. His work has sparked discussions about balancing copyright protection with the need for broader access to knowledge and cultural resources. # References ```dataview Table title as Title, authors as Authors where contains(subject, "Eric Eldred") ```