|
The U.S. Congress passed the first such copyright law in 1790. It has been modified many times since to encompass new technologies such as music recording, to extend the duration of protection, and to make other changes. US courts have interpreted this clause of the Constitution to say that the ultimate purpose of copyrights is to encourage the production of creative works for the public benefit, and that therefore the interests of the public are primary over the interests of the author when the two conflict. These rulings have since been formalized into fair use laws and decisions. |
|
The U.S. Congress passed the first such copyright law in 1790. The Act gave an author an exclusive right to publish and vend "maps, charts and books" for a period of 14 years, with the right of renewal for another 14 years if the author was still alive. The act did not regulate other kinds of writings, such as music or newspaper and specifically noted that it did not prohibit pirating the works of foreign authors. The vast majority of writings were never copyrighted - between 1790 and 1799, of 13,000 titles published in the United States, only 556 were copyrighted. Copyright law has been modified many times since to encompass new technologies such as music recording, to extend the duration of protection, and to make other changes. US courts have interpreted this clause of the Constitution to say that the ultimate purpose of copyrights is to encourage the production of creative works for the public benefit, and that therefore the interests of the public are primary over the interests of the author when the two conflict. These rulings have since been formalized into fair use laws and decisions. |
|
External Links * [Copyright Timeline:]A History of Copyright in the U.S. * [Copyright and Culture] by Christopher D. Hunter |
![[Home]](wikipedia.png)