Source Reference
Copyright Timeline: A History of Copyright in the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.arl.org/copyright-timeline/.
Article Type
Website
First Line Citation
(Copyright Timeline)
Summary
The website goes into detail about the history of copyright law in the United states.
In-depth Summary
The first official mention of copyrights in United States history is in Article 1, Section 8, clause 8 of the US Constitution, where it states “ the Congress shall have power . . . to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.” (Copyright Timeline). The copyright clause in the US Constitution gives authors select rights to their work in return for publishing their work publicly. It is clear that the Framers of the Constitution were keen to promote a population that holds in high regards ingenuity and innovation, a society that seeks to reward creators for their efforts and encourage others to create.
The second milestone in US copyright protections was the Copyright Act of 1790. It was modeled after the Statute of Anne and gave authors the right to publish and print their works for a profit for fourteen years, it also offered a way to renew a copyright for another fourteen years (Copyright Timeline). Four amendments to the act were implemented in 1831, 1870, 1909, and 1976 (Copyright Timeline). In 1831 the period of initial copyright was prolonged to twenty-eight years. The 1870 revision was a transfer of administration from district courts to a Library of Congress Copyright Office. In 1909 Congress revised the act to broaden the scope of copyright protections to all works of composition and extend the renewal term from fourteen to twenty-eight years. The 1976 revision was perhaps the largest revision, and the revision with the most impact today; the revisions were made in light of developing technologies and a desire to patent them, alongside an effort by Congress to align US copyright law with international copyright policy. With the 1976 revision, the period of copyright was extended to the life of the author plus 50 years, for the first time the fair use doctrine was implemented, and copyright was extended to unpublished works (Copyright Timeline).
The third crucial development for copyright protections in the US was the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (also known as the DMCA). The DMCA was created in response to the swift expansion of the internet’s capabilities, and the considerable amount of copyright infringement taking place online. According to the Association of Research Libraries, the DMCA established safe harbors for online service providers (OSPs); permitted temporary copies of programs during computer maintenance, something that essentially protects innocent people from infringing copyright by proxy of the functioning of a computer; and made varied revisions to the Copyright Act that included amendments which enabled internet broadcasting (Copyright Timeline).
Evaluation
The article is very in-depth. It goes through the history of bills passed and amendments made to them. Overall good article.
Quotes
“According to Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution, ‘the Congress shall have power . . . to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.’” (Copyright Timeline).
“The 1976 revision was undertaken for two primary reasons. First, technological developments and their impact on what might be copyrighted, how works might be copied, and what constituted an infringement needed to be addressed. Second, the revision was undertaken in anticipation of Berne Convention adherence by the U.S. It was felt that the statute needed to be amended to bring the U.S. into accord with international copyright law, practices, and policies.” (Copyright Timeline).
“The law’s five titles implemented the WIPO Internet Treaties; established safe harbors for online service providers; permitted temporary copies of programs during computer maintenance; made miscellaneous amendments to the Copyright Act, including amendments which facilitated Internet broadcasting; and created sui generis protection for boat hull designs.” (Copyright Timeline).
Vocabulary
DMCA— a 1998 United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
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