Robert W. Kastenmeier: Copyright Legislator "Par Excellence"

Abstract

The 1990 congressional elections may amount to little more than a momentary blip on the radar screen of American political history. Not very much changed. Only one incumbent senator was defeated. Only a small group of the more than 400 members of the House of Representatives who ran for re-election were told by the voters to retire or look for another job. One of them was Democrat Bob Kastenmeier, who for thirty-two years of uninterrupted service represented the Second Congressional District of Wisconsin. For nearly two decades of his tenure, he held a coveted congressional post, sitting at the helm of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Administration of Justice. Bob Kastenmeier steered the Subcommittee, in the words of Walt Whitman, with a strong hand and wary eye.' It was in the immediate wake of the electoral mutiny that Kastenmeier was given due public recognition for his diverse accomplishments, most of which-such as the many copyright law reforms that he authored-emanated from his subcommittee. Even after dissipation of the wake, the accolades follow like sea gulls drifting effortlessly in the wind. Writing a tribute to Bob Kastenmeier, with emphasis on his contributions to copyright law, is a daunting task, particularly for one who worked in close proximity to him for many years. I had the good fortune to serve on his crew, as the Subcommittee Chief Counsel for eight years, and prior to that, as Subcommittee Counsel for four years.2 The encomiologic task is difficult because the man was an uncommon politician, humble and full of humility. He rarely sought publicity or praise. He was averse to blowing his own horn and never directed attention to himself. He even chastised his staff for drafting press releases that were too laudatory. A visit to his congressional office revealed walls adorned with