Why Copyright Laws Exist

Books are some of the earliest works protected by copyright law.

Copyright law exists in the United States because it is a constitutional right. The Constitution provides that the United States Congress has the power to provide for the "general welfare" and promote the progress of science and the arts.

Copyright Clause Meaning

In the copyright clause, the word "copyright" is not used, simply because the word did not then exist. The clause actually says protection will be achieved by "...securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

European Context Underpinning U.S. Copyright Law

With the invention of the printing press in the 1600s, and subsequent emergence of the publishing industry, the concept of individual authorship arose. Until then, works were viewed as not owned by their creator, mostly because they were believed to be of divine origin.

British Copyright and the U.S.

In Britain, authors' rights became protected under the Statute of Anne and later law. These rights came to include not only books but music and other art and science creations. Before the U.S. Constitution was written in 1786, colonies and their governments and courts applied British copyright law.

Fundamental Consitutional Principles Are Included in the Copyright Act

In order to preserve the rights of all to free speech, and access to the public domain, or creative commons, copyright limits terms of ownership of protected works, and provides for "fair use" of a portion of protected works without permission.

Technological Changes Continue to Change Copyright Law

As was true for the origin of protection of works by copyright, technological developments force the evolution of the law. Most recently, these challenges have occurred with the advent of digital means of transmitting, creating,and displaying protected work.

References

• "preamble"; United States Constitution; 1786
• "Article I, section 8, clause 8"; United States Constitution; 1786
• "Musical Performance and the Internet: A Discordance of Old and New Copyright Rules; Introduction"; Stephanie Haun, J.D., D.M.A.;
• "Copyright's Highway"; Paul Goldstein; 1994
• "Communication and Expression, Ch. 12, section 12-14"; American Constitutional Law, 2nd ed.; Lawrence H. Tribe; 1988

Resources

• United States Copyright Office