Copyright Laws And How They Have Affected Society. Copyright

In order to understand the issues surrounding modern copyright we must first delve into the history of the law. Most parties generally agree that modern copyright law can trace its origins to the Statute of Anne. Bowker (1912) states that the act, passed by

The duration of copyright determines the length of protection. Limitations on this length exist to ensure works enter the public domain. Therefore, the length of protection is one of the most relevant and debated issues regarding copyright law. The proponents and opponents of copyright term extension make compelling arguments, but both sides agree that copyright law should encourage creativity and innovation. If Disney is successful in once again lobbying for an extension of duration, a substantial number of works will fail to enter the public domain in a timely manner. This will, consequently, lead to a stifling of creativity and a suppression of innovation that could be detrimental to progress in the realms of science and the useful arts.

Copyright is the legal right, to an inventor to perform, print, publish, film, or record artistic, literary, or musical material, and to allow others to do the same. Copyright law was developed to provide the creators and inventors of any works with powerful and effective rights of exclusivity over their creations (Patterson & Lindberg, 1991). Over the past, these rights were almost unlimited. People would use existing developments as if they were their own without any regard of the creator’s exclusive rights. The need to balance and limit such rights arose, and governments established these limits for the general good of the public.

With over three billion people in the world utilizing the internet there is great danger for copyright infringement to occur (Internet Live Stats). Copyright law protects the creator of an original piece of work exclusive rights to the work. Many people who use the internet are sharing files that do not belong to them and are guilty of copyright infringement. Copyright law needs to be tightened up in the digital space to protect the creator of their unique work.

1976 The United States Copyright Act was revised from the prior act. In short terms this new revision states the basis of the Copyright Law, and changed the doctrine of “fair use”, and copyrights adopted post author/creators death.[7]

It is important that the United States created these copyright laws in order to protect the rights of artists and their work. If these laws were not in place, then the work of these artists could be stolen and they would not make a profit off of their work.

     The Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), as stated above, was introduced in response to the growing need to protect individual’s creative works or other subject matter from commercial or other exploitation. It contains provisions, which describes what subject matter is protected, and rights of

People who seamlessly make new art and culture should not be put down for creating or practicing the right to express themselves. Copyright Laws need to be trimmed down to a point where the laws can no longer be a threat to artists, imagination, or

The Copyright Act of 1909, which would eventually be outdated by the Copyright Act of 1976 protected all published works between 1909 and 1978. Unpublished works were protected under common law which meant that the rights would be determined by previous court cases. Under copyright law, a work is published if copies or phonorecords are distributed to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership or by rental, lease or lending. This was primarily based on the printing press and its distribution of works which at the time was unfair to the original author. Due to groundbreaking developments in technology in the next 60 years such as radio, television, communication satellites, cable television, computers, photocopying machines, videotape recorders etc., there was a dire need to reform the law to secure works now, and in the

Nowadays, most of American institutions require the students to sign the plagiarism form before attending the class in order to prevent their students from taking somebody’s work without giving credits. I believe intellectual laws are as important as any other law because it defines the ethical aspect of the three core values of the United States of America liberty, freedom and democracy. Copyright law is an intellectual law that grants ownership to the author and protects the author from copyright infringement. This paper will discuss how copyright law was established, and how the establishment influences advertising. I begin by examining the history of copyright before it became a constitutional law. I will also explain why the copyright is protected under the First Amendment. After that, I will interpret some significant copyright acts that had been established since it first started, but my main focus will be on the role of ‘fair use’ in the Copyright Act of 1976, which set up the primary basis for the copyright laws in the United States. The investigation will demonstrate how ‘fair use’ relates to copyright matters in advertising, or “commercial speech”. The conclusion will emphasize the significance of ‘fair use’ in advertising.

“Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet” (Mark Twain). The concept of copyright in the United States has a large history. The first form of copyright in the United States stems from Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution in the year 1787, where “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." These “exclusive rights” were originally extremely limited, as the first Copyright Act of 1790 only applied to maps, charts, and books. As time has advanced, copyright practices in the United States have undergone several reforms, among the most recent being the infamous Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998. Said act updated United States law to the requirements of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), such as placing limitations on the liability of online service providers for copyright violations made by users. The act, however, has been a subject of controversy in recent times, as some content creators abuse it to control access to their content. This is accomplished through methods such as copyright trolling, in which the copyright holder produces works solely for the purpose of litigation rather than distribution. Oftentimes, these practices are thought to be a violation of fair use, which enables copyrighted work to be used without

While civil cases aim to make the offended party whole criminal cases are intended to penalize those who break the law. Throughout time criminal copyright legislation and penalties have changed. This is partially due to the

I moved to the states when I was 15 years old. I have lived in two completely different worlds. In one, there are laws, regulations, and books about a matter called copyright; in another there is not even a word in the dictionary related to that. It is interesting to witness the two. It is somehow surreal how these two countries differ in terms of those rights. When I was introduced to the latest movies and music hits through alternative sources, we did not even know how to spell ‘copyright’ in Iran.

Over two centuries ago Congress enacted the first copyright law with the intent that it would allow authors and creators of works to be the sole profiters and exclusive rights holders over their work for a specified time. After the specified period of time ended, the works would pass into ownership of the general public. Since the Copyright Act of 1790, copyright laws have continued to evolve and still struggle to keep up with an ever changing, fast paced society. With the use of the World Wide Web and the ease of downloading, copying, and file sharing increasing, copyright holders in the United States and those with vested interested in copyright laws are calling for changes to be made to copyright laws. In more recent years, additional concerns with online copyright laws have arisen, leading some to call for stricter laws, while others are calling for more lenient laws, and questions on the legality of the laws continue to surface.

Since the U.S. Copyright Act became law in 1790, the copyright term has been increasing. “Copyright is an intangible property right granted by federal statue to the author or originator of certain literacy or outside productions.” The first major change was the Copyright Act of 1976, it gave American authors the right to print, re-print, or publish their work for 14 years and then to renew for another 14. In 1998, Congress passed the Sonny Bono Copyright Act also known as the Mickey Mouse Copyright Act, which extended protection from life of the author plus 70 years as well as taking away the need for a copyright notice and registration. The result was that many whom did not have copyright protection due to lack of copyright notice and registration were now protected. Following the Mickey Mouse Copyright Act, they passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which intended to create a new updated version of copyright laws to deal with the challenges of regulating digital material. It aimed to protect the rights of both copyright owners and consumers, and without it copyright owners would have a difficult time obtaining legal action against those who copy copyrighted material.