102.1 Constitutional Basis for and Purpose of Copyright Law
Copyright has been a part of the American legal landscape since colonial times, when many of the colonies adopted copyright laws. See U.S. Copyright Office Bulletin 3, Copyright Enactments 1783–1900, at 9–-29 (listing copyright laws enacted by Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and New York between 1783 and 1786), available at www.copyright.gov/history/Copyright_Enactments_1783-1973.pdf. Upon ratification, the U.S. Constitution provided Congress with the ability to make federal laws to protect copyright. Specifically, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 (which includes the “Copyright Clause”) states that “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.” The promotion of “science,” as that term is used in the Copyright Clause, is understood to refer to the purpose of copyright law (despite the contemporary usage of the term). See Eldred v. Ashcroft, 537 U.S. 186, 197 (2003). The Supreme Court has confirmed that this clause empowers Congress to enact a copyright system. See Golan v. Holder, 132 S. Ct. 873, 887–88 (2012).
U.S. courts have analyzed the purpose of the Copyright Clause in a number of cases. The Supreme Court has interpreted the Copyright Clause to mean that copyright laws should promote both the creation and dissemination of creative works. See, e.g., Golan, 132 S. Ct. at 888–89. Thus, “[t]he Framers intended copyright itself to be the engine of free expression.” Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises et al., 471 U.S. 539, 558 (1985); see also Golan, 132 S. Ct. at 890 (“By establishing a marketable right to the use of one’s expression, copyright supplies the economic incentive to create and disseminate ideas.”).
102.2 Statutes and Regulations
Congress has exercised its authority to enact federal copyright laws on numerous occasions. The first Copyright Act, enacted in 1790, and subsequent laws are summarized in the historical timeline in Section 102.7 below. The current Copyright Act was enacted in 1976 and became effective on January 1, 1978. It has been amended numerous times since its enactment. The Copyright Act protects “original works of authorship” that are “fixed in any tangible medium of expression….” 17 U.S.C. § 102(a). Section 106 of the Act provides copyright holders with a number of exclusive rights (including the right to reproduce works, prepare derivative works, distribute works, and in certain cases, to publicly perform and display works). It also provides certain exceptions and limitations to these exclusive rights. See 17 U.S.C. §§ 107–122.
Works that predate the effective date of the 1976 Act are governed by statutory provisions of the 1909 Copyright Act; the most relevant of these provisions are discussed in Chapter 2100 of this Compendium.
102.2(A) Copyright Act of 1976
The 1976 Act replaced the 1909 Copyright Act and changed much of how copyright law operates, including as follows:
