First Federal Copyright Act
On May 31, 1790, Congress used the power given it in Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution 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" and enacted the first Federal Copyright Act.Noah Webster
Noah Webster, the compiler of both the first American speller and an early dictionary, played a major role in getting both the state laws and the first Federal statute enacted. He traveled to each legislature and described the authors' plight and their need for copyright protection. Authors have continued to guard the rights granted by the Constitution and to ensure that new technologies permitting copying do not erode these rights.What Is A Copyright?
What is copyright and when does copyright protection arise? Federal copyright legislation gives an author certain exclusive rights for a limited time: the right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords, to perform the work publicly, and to display the work publicly. Congress attempts to create a balance between the rights given to authors and the legitimate needs for society. There are some limitations or exemptions that permit society to make specific uses of copyrighted works.Copyright subsists in an original work of authorship from the time the work is first created or fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which that work can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated. A work is put in a tangible form, for example, when a literary work is typed or written or a piece of music captured on tape.
Copyright covers the expression of ideas and not the idea itself. Thus, copyright does not cover "any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery..." It does not, for example, protect blank checks, standardized material, titles, or government works.
What Rights Does A Copyright Give You?
What does copyright protection mean for an author? Copyright means that no one may appropriate the copyright owner's exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, or display a work without permission from the author unless the right has been transferred to the user or the person who authorizes or licenses this particular use, or an exemption covers the use in question.The very first copyright law protected maps, charts, and books for a basic term of 14 years. Since 1790 the copyright law has evolved to include musical works, dramatic works, photographs, paintings, and other works of art, motion pictures, and sound recordings. It also lasts for the the life of the author plus seventy years.
