Copyright Law & the Constitution
Copyright is a Constitutionally recognized property right of an author to control the reproduction of his intellectual creation. Copyright laws provide legal means to protect that right when the work is made available to the public.
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History
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After the Revolution, most of the Colonies passed laws recognizing protections of an authors’ work. These laws were based on the law protecting intellectual property in England. These laws, however, were limited only to boundaries of each individual Colony. The writers of the Constitution, therefore, adopted a provision that protected intellectual property across all of the states.
Constitution
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Article I Section 8 of the Constitution protects intellectual property by stating, “to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writing and discoveries.” Science refers in this section to copyrights, while useful arts refers to patents. This clause permits, but does not require, Congress to exercise power to regulate intellectual property. Any rights or claims associated with a violation of someone’s intellectual property arise under statutes enacted by Congress.
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Writing
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The terms writing and useful science associated with copyrights within the Constitution have been expanded to include photographs, film, music and art. The work must be fixed in a tangible format for copyright to be recognized. Once copyright is established, the author has exclusive rights to any royalties or use of the work.
1976 Act
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In 1976 Congress adopted the Copyright Act, which established a federal system of protection for all “original works of authorship,” published or unpublished. Work is protected for a term of 50 years after the death of the author. The Act also included provisions for notification that a work is copyrighted and for the right of “fair use” by parties other than the author. This Act has been amended since 1976 to address the needs of modern technology and to clarify terms.
Purpose of Right
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Intellectual property was granted protections in order to encourage authors and inventors to share their work with the public. The founding fathers believed that sharing these works would serve the welfare of the public. Without protections associated with the creation of original works, authors would not be as willing to share their art and knowledge with the public. In turn, when the public is engaged by original works, they are inspired to create their own.
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References
- Photo Credit copyright image by cam422 from Fotolia.com
