copyright law (United States)

copyright law (United States)
Name	Copyright law (United States)
Legislature	United States Congress
Enacted by	United States Congress
Signed by	President of the United States
Date commenced	1976
Status	Active

copyright law (United States) governs protection of original works of authorship in the United States. It balances rights of creators such as Mark Twain, Maya Angelou, Bob Dylan, and institutions like the Library of Congress against public interests reflected in cases involving parties such as Sony Corporation, Google LLC, Apple Inc., and Harvard University. The statutory framework derives from provisions in the United States Constitution and major statutes like the Copyright Act of 1976, shaped by decisions from the Supreme Court of the United States and international instruments such as the Berne Convention.

History

Early American protection drew on English models like the Statute of Anne and colonial practices involving figures such as Benjamin Franklin and publishers like John Dunlap. The first federal statute, the Copyright Act of 1790, reflected influences from Thomas Jefferson and debates in the First Congress. Subsequent reforms—Copyright Act of 1831, Copyright Act of 1909, and the Copyright Act of 1976—responded to technological shifts exemplified by inventors like Thomas Edison, companies such as RCA Corporation, and events like the rise of the Radio Corporation of America. The United States joined international regimes including the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 and the WIPO Copyright Treaty era, influenced by negotiations involving delegations from United States Department of State and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Landmark litigation—Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., Feist Publications, Inc., v. Rural Telephone Service Co.—shaped doctrines for copying, distribution, and originality.

Scope and Subject Matter

Protected subject matter includes works listed in 17 U.S.C. § 102, such as literary works (e.g., Harper Lee's publications), musical works (e.g., compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven as curated by The Juilliard School), dramatic works, pictorial and sculptural works (e.g., pieces by Auguste Rodin displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art), audiovisual works (e.g., films from Paramount Pictures), sound recordings (e.g., releases by Columbia Records), and architectural works (e.g., designs by Frank Lloyd Wright). Exclusions derive from precedents like Baker v. Selden and statutes distinguishing ideas and expressions referenced in disputes involving Samuel Clemens editions. Works must be original and fixed in a tangible medium as tested in cases such as Burrows-Giles Lithographic Co. v. Sarony and Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co..

Rights of Copyright Holders

Copyright confers a bundle of exclusive rights under 17 U.S.C. § 106: reproduction, preparation of derivative works, distribution, public performance, public display, and, for sound recordings, public performance by digital audio transmission. These rights have been asserted by creators and rights holders including Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Sony Music Entertainment, and Random House to control exploitations across platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix. Transferable and licensable interests are governed by doctrines applied in cases involving parties such as HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, and are affected by statutory concepts like termination rights codified after influences from advocates including Lee Tillett and organizations such as the Authors Guild.

Limitations and Exceptions

Statutory limitations include fair use codified by precedent in Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises and articulated in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., the first-sale doctrine from Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus, and compulsory licenses for mechanical and digital transmissions influenced by statutes and entities like ASCAP and BMI. Libraries and archives represented by Library of Congress regulations rely on exceptions for preservation and interlibrary loan shaped by negotiations with groups such as American Library Association. Special regimes address educational uses at institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, and access for persons with disabilities as reflected in the Chafee Amendment and stakeholders including National Federation of the Blind.

Registration, Enforcement, and Remedies

Registration at the United States Copyright Office provides prerequisites for statutory damages and attorney’s fees in litigation, a pathway pursued by plaintiffs including Viacom International Inc. and Universal Music Group. Enforcement mechanisms include Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provisions involving online service providers such as Facebook and Vimeo, notice-and-takedown procedures, and anti-circumvention rules responding to technologies from firms like Intel Corporation and Adobe Systems. Remedies comprise injunctions by the United States District Court system, statutory damages, and criminal penalties enforced by agencies like the Department of Justice in prosecutions akin to those against defendants in high-profile cases.

Infringement and Litigation

Infringement claims examine substantial similarity and access, tested in cases involving plaintiffs like Getty Images and defendants like Napster, Inc. and later peer-to-peer litigants. Courts from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to the Supreme Court of the United States have considered doctrines such as contributory and vicarious liability in A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc. and MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.. Remedies and procedures involve declaratory judgments, DMCA counter-notice strategies used by users of platforms like Reddit and Tumblr, and global enforcement where multinationals such as Microsoft coordinate with foreign counterparts like European Union bodies.

Policy, Reform, and International Obligations

Policy debates about term length, orphan works, maker culture, and digital rights engage stakeholders such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Creative Commons, Motion Picture Association, and academic centers like Harvard Law School and Stanford Law School. Legislative proposals touching the Stop Online Piracy Act and trade measures in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations prompted participation from corporations like Amazon.com and advocacy by organizations including Public Knowledge. International obligations under treaties like the Berne Convention, TRIPS Agreement, and WIPO Copyright Treaty shape harmonization while disputes in forums such as the World Trade Organization influence domestic implementation, balancing interests represented by authors, performers, publishers, and technology companies.

Category:United States copyright law