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| History of the Copyright Act |
| Copyright Act of 1790 |
| The U.S. Copyright Act of 1790 "sought the encouragement
of learning" allowed the authors of books, maps, and charts 14
years of protection with a possibility of renewal for another 14 years
if the creator was still alive. From: Internet Surf and Turf Revealed |
| Copyright Act of 1831 |
| The Copyright Act of 1831 extended the term of protection to 28
years with the same renewal term of 14 years (widow or children of
the author could renew the copyright of the author was deceased).
The key addition was the protection of printed music. from: Copyright Extension |
| Copyright Act of 1865 |
| The Copyright Act of 1865 added the protection of photographs. from: Copyright Extension |
| Copyright Act of 1870 |
| Prior
to 1870, clerks of district courts registered all materials to be
copyrighted. In 1870, copyright functions were redirected to the Library
of Congress until 1897, when the Copyright office became a separate
department of the Library of Congress. from: A Brief history of the Copyright Office |
| Copyright Act of 1909 |
| The Copyright Act of 1909 did not extend the length of the initial
copyright protection but increased the renewal of copyright protection
from 14 years to 28 years, giving the author or their spouse and children
58 years of protection. Another monumental decision was to grant protection
from the date of publication, not the date of registration with the
copyright office. From: Internet Surf and Turf Revealed |
| Copyright Act of 1976 |
| The Copyright Act of 1976 was another major milestone
in author/creator protection. Copyright was now recognized "upon
fixation in a tangible medium of expression" while limiting the
author's rights through "Fair Use". From: Internet Surf and Turf Revealed |
| Copyright Act of 1990 |
| Section 511 of the Copyright Act affirms that "states
and state employees and instrumentalities are not immune under the
Eleventh Amendment from suit for copyright infringement." The
creator/owner of computer software can lease or sell right to their
programs. Copyright protection now covers architechual creatations. From: A Brief History of the Copyright Act |
| Copyright Act of 1992 |
| The Digital Audio Home Recording Act has manufacturers install anticopying
technology and paying royalties to recording artists in order to stop
infringement suits of the public by clarifying the legal limits of
home analog and digital reproduction. From: A Brief History of the Copyright Act |
| Copyright Act of 1998 |
| Also known as the Sonny BonoExtension Act, this
Act increased copyright protection for another 20 years, raising
the rights of the creator to lifetime plus 70 years. This was also
applied to works already in copyright retroactively. |
| Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 |
| Groundbreaking in its passage to "prohibit
the acts of bypassing encryption or anticopying systems and of removing
copyright management information and provided protections for the
Internet service providers" |
| Teach Act of 2002 |
| The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization
(“TEACH”) Act extends the benefits of fair use to distance
learning in both analog and digital formats. From: Internet Surf and Turf Revealed |
| Copyright Act of 2005 |
| Is really two parts. The first part makes it illegal
to videotape movies in the theater as well ar releasing bootleg copies
of those movies. The second part provides "exemption from infringement
for skipping audio and video content in motion pictures" by using
technolgy that will allow the viewer to censor content of a movie
from a DVD. From: www.copyright.gov/legislation/pl109-9 |
| With the growing complexities of technologies the Copyright law is constantly updating. Go to www.copyright.gov for updates. |