Something
copyrighted today by an author who dies in 30 years, won’t expire until 2116. It didn’t always used to be this way, where a
copyrighted book would be protected for the author’s full life plus 70 years
from the date of his or her death. Back
as recently as 1963 a work could be protected for up to 95 years from its date
of creation, provided it was renewed in its 28th year. Prior to 1923, there
were no copyright protections like the ones enjoyed today.
A
good book, The Writer’s Legal Guide,
summarizes the copyright history in the United States by stating the following:
“The
copyright law of the United Sates grew out of the Statute of Anne. Between 1783 and 1789, Noah Webster
successfully helped lobby twelve of the original thirteen states to recognize
copyright, but complained about having to travel to each state to register,
because there was no legislative reciprocity among the Confederation of
States. He urged the new Republic in
1789 to pass federal copyright protection.
The U.S. Constitution provided that “The Congress shall have the
power…To promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts, by securing for
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries.” In crafting
the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison expressed ambivalence
about the concept of a private monopoly over ideas and inventions. Their decision to include copyright rested on
the “limited time” and private, as opposed to government, ownership of such
monopolies.
"In
1790, Congress enacted the first federal copyright statute, providing
protection for books, maps, and charts for an initial term of fourteen years
plus a renewal term of fourteen years, mirroring the term in the Statute of
Anne. The renewal term only arose if the
copyright owner took affirmative steps to file a renewal registration. Because most works did not retain entered the
public domain. In 1831, Congress
increased the initial term of copyright to twenty-eight years, plus a
fourteen-year renewal term. In 1865, the
law was amended to cover photographs and negatives. In 1870, it added coverage for paintings,
drawings, sculptures, and models or designs of works of fine arts. In 1909, Congress completely revised the
copyright law and expanded the exclusive rights granted to authors. The initial term of copyright remained
twenty-eight years, but the renewal term was increased to twenty-eight years. For the first time, the right to make
derivative works such as translations and abridgements was recognized as an
exclusive right of the author.”
"The
1909 Act as interpreted by the courts favored publishers’ interests over those
of authors. For example, the various
rights to exploit a copyright were deemed indivisible, so an author’s grant of
publication rights had the effect of transferring the entire copyright to the
publisher. The courts also thwarted
Congress’s intent to allow the original author to enjoy the longer renewal term
by enforcing agreements made during the original term to license away the
renewal term, if one arose.
"The
inventions of radio, television, motion pictures, satellites, software, and
other innovations eventually required a complete revision of the 1909 Act, and
the new Copyright Act of 1976 was passed as of January 1, 1978. Although subsequent amendments, such as the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, have tried to address the pressures
of globalization and the development of new ways to make, copy, and deliver
creative works, technology continues to outrun the law. Judicial interpretations of the Act,
especially from the Second and Ninth Circuits and the Supreme Court, have had
to try to fill the gaps in the law that fail to address the realities of the
Information Age, with varying degrees of success.”
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