A Historical Overview of Copyright Law: From Ancient Concepts to Modern Statutes, Slides of Law

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Historical Background

Author’s Rights Concepts Are

Very Ancient

• 6 th^ century: St. Columba and King Diarmid :
• “To every cow her calf”

• COPYRIGHT

IS THE

PRODUCT OF

CENSORSHIP

Stationers’ Company

• Livery company in the City of London
• Facilitated Crown control of printing
• Had exclusive right to practice the art of printing until Licensing Acts expired in 1694

Statute of Anne

STATUTE OF ANNE (1710)

PRINCIPAL PROVISIONS

• Exclusive right of author of new work to print and reprint the book - 21 years for existing works - 14 years from publication for new or unpublished works
• Renewal for 14 years if author still living
• Registration required
  • Register title at Stationers Hall before publication
• Deposit
  • 9 copies – Royal Library, certain other libraries
• Infringement
  • 3 month limitations period
• No protection for foreign books in foreign language

An Early Copyright Lobbyist

• Hint: Dictionaries

Patent and Copyright Clause

• U.S. Const. Art. I sec. 8 cl. 8
• The 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

Some Subsequent Federal Statutes

• 1802 (amendment to 1790)
  • notice required on copies of protected works -- also protection expanded to prints
• 1831 General Revision
  • increased term to 28 years plus 14 year renewal -- also protection expanded to musical compositions (but not performance) and cuts and engravings

Wheaton v. Peters (1834)

• Dispute between Henry Wheaton and Richard Peters, rival law reporters
• Issue for Supreme Court

Some more subsequent copyright

statutes

• 1856
  • protection expanded to dramatic works and public performance thereof
• 1865
  • protection expanded to photographs
• 1870
  • protection expanded to paintings, drawings, chromolithographs, sculptures and models/designs; also, responsibility centralized in Library of Congress
• 1897
  • protection expanded to public performance of musical compositions

• Copyright Act of 1909
  • Expanded list of protected works – e.g. , periodicals
  • Catch-all: “all the writings of an author” (Section 4)
  • Copyright for published work begins upon publication with notice
  • Statutory copyright available for certain unpublished works
  • Renewal term extended – maximum copyright term of 56 years
  • Preserved common law rights in unpublished works
  • Compulsory license
  • Codified “first sale” doctrine
  • STILL IMPORTANT
• 1912
  • protection expanded to motion pictures
• 1971
  • protection expanded to sound recordings

Historical Trends in Copyright

Law

• 1. copyrightable subject matter

• 2. duration

• 3. international copyright system

• 4. formalities

Historical Trends in Copyright

Law

• 1. Progressive expansion of copyrightable subject matter
• 2. Expansion of duration
• 3. Growing U.S. participation in international copyright system
• 4. Steadily reduced importance of formalities