©opyright chronology.

Copyright Chronology

noreply@blogger.com (Aspen Walker) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:59:00 +0000

This site provides a brief and focused history of copyright, especially assembled for students of librarianship working in the United States. Just a few of the things you can learn here:

Early Foundations of Copyright Law
Copyright in the United States, Then & Now
Common(ly misunderstood) Terms

You'll also find a collection of resources and links for further study.

Questions for Aspen? awalker@dclibraries.org

Copyright Timeline

noreply@blogger.com (Aspen Walker) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:54:00 +0000

Doubleclick on the timeline to view the full-size image.

Ancient Times: Scrolls, Scribes & Codices

noreply@blogger.com (Aspen Walker) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:12:00 +0000

Before the printing press, people routinely made copies of manuscripts, by hand. In some places, called scriptoria, (including the famed Library of Alexandria, and Cassiodurus’ Vivarium Monastery), crews of scribes churned out copies for large libraries and personal collections. Copious copies ensured the proliferation –and preservation- of knowledge.

Around 300 B.C., a disciple of Plato (c. 423-347 B.C.) made a grave faux pas. He sold copies of his master’s work. While the Greeks had no issue with making copies or selling them without permission, they did feel that commerce was not a fitting activity for a philosopher’s pupil.

25 B.C. - 100 A.D.: at the height of the Roman Empire, publishers and booksellers flourished. By making copies and selling them, the businessmen often saved the author the immense expense of copying and distributing their own work. Here’s an interesting description of Rome’s bookstores, (this 1841 resource is now part of the Public Domain).

In 567 A.D., an Irish monk named Colmcille (known later as St. Columba of Iona for converting Scots to Christianity), commits the first official act of copyright infringement. Colmcille copied part of the Abbott Finnian’s copy of the Latin Bible (The Vulgate) late at night, and without permission.

Colmcille’s Argument: Learned men like us, who have received a new heritage of knowledge through books, have an obligation to spread that knowledge, by copying and distributing those books far and wide. I haven't used up Finnian's book by copying it. He still has the original and that original is none the worse for my having copied it. Nor has it decreased in value because I made a transcript of it. The knowledge in books should be available to anybody who wants to read them and has the skills or is worthy to do so; and it is wrong to hide such knowledge away or attempt to prevent me or anyone else from copying it or reading it or making multiple copies to disperse throughout the land.

Dairmaid, the Irish King at Tara, ruled that Colmcille was in the wrong: I don't know where you get your fancy new ideas about people's property…someone who owns the parent-book also owns the child-book. To every cow its calf, to every book its child-book. The child-book belongs to Finnian.

Enter the Printing Press

noreply@blogger.com (Aspen Walker) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:06:00 +0000

1042 A.D.: Printing by movable type prompted the Song Dynasty to consider a copyright of sorts, in order to protect the sole right of the Imperial College to print and publish the Chinese classics. At the same time, a book, Biographical Sketch of the Capital of the Northern Song, was embossed with a stamp of declaration, which is remarkably similar to the modern copyright notice:

Printed by the Cheng Family of Mei Shan. The right has been registered with the competent authority. No reprinting without authorisation is allowed.

1456 A.D.: the European printing press was invented, facilitating greater dissemination of copies. The printer (the owner of the press) was, in many ways, more important than the author or owner of a manuscript in that the printing industry determined what was lucrative enough to print. Most authors received a single payment for their work; after that it was owned, produced and distributed by the printer.

1476 A.D.: William Caxton brings the printing press to England, prompting the foundations of modern copyright law. The English government instituted a licensing law that required printers to register their names, locations, and titles of works they wanted to print. If approved, the Crown granted the printer the right to "copye" the work. The rights were held by the printer, not the creator of the work.

1534-1538 A.D.: In an effort to squelch texts that criticized his reign, Henry VIII increased the power of printers by prohibiting the import of foreign books, as well as the publication of "naughty printed books" (these books were subversive, not pornographic). Printers were required to get a license from the Privy Council (also known as The Star Chamber), before printing any book.

1557 A.D.: Henry's daughter, Mary Tudor ("Bloody Mary"), granted the Stationers' Company (a printer's guild), a monopoly on printing in 1557. The first printer to enter a book in the Company’s register acquired a right to the title or "copy". Thereafter, the right could be transferred, like any other property. The text’s creator of the text held little power over the work once the manuscript was sold.

1649-1660 A.D.: Cromwell's Commonwealth required Parliamentary licenses for all publications. In an effort to maintain governmental control, all presses outside of London, Oxford, and Cambridge were banned. Concurrently, John Milton protested censorship in his Areopagitica and called for a free press.

1709 A.D.: In an attempt to thwart Puritan ideas, Queen Anne of England used the Stationer's Company to try and control what got printed. In turn, John Locke and other thinkers, called for a free press. Simultaneously, "pirate" publishers in Scotland and Ireland took successful works, re-typeset the text and sold the books inexpensively. They did not pay the author or original publisher. Few new works were published during this period. These issues found the Stationer’s Company bellowing for a new licensing system, in order to regain control on publishing monopolies. Ultimately, Parliament passed the Statute of Anne, which actually favored authors over publishers. The Statute was billed as "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or purchasers of such Copies, during the Times therein mentioned." The Statute created a 21-year term for works already in print, and a 14-year term for all works published thereafter. Printers were required to provide nine copies to the Stationer's Company for distribution to the Royal Library, and other important libraries throughout England and Scotland.

1774 A.D.: Donaldson v. Beckett. The House of Lords held that there was no common law copyright, once a work was given to a publisher or printer. For authors and creators, the finding stripped the natural right to control the creation as soon as they relinquished the work to a publisher. Once released, the statutory law controlled what happened to the work. After the statutory period, the works became part of the public domain.

The US: Laying Down the Law & Mastering Multimedia Masterpieces

noreply@blogger.com (Aspen Walker) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:32:00 +0000

1788 A.D.: Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution states: “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.”

1790 A.D.: The first U.S. copyright act was entitled “An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies, during the Times therein mentioned.” Based somewhat on the Statute of Anne, the Act ensured a copyright duration of 14 years, with possible renewal for 14 additional years, if the author was still living at the end of the first 14 year period. The U.S. followed Donaldson v.

1834 A.D.: Wheaton v. Peters goes to the Supreme Court. In a reiteration of Donaldson v. Beckett, the Court held that there is no common law copyright, only the right given by statute.

1853 A.D.: Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, sued a German Publisher called Die Freie Presse. The publisher translated the book into German and sold it in the United States without Stowe's permission. She lost the case. Federal Circuit Court Judge, Robert Grier, ruled that "a translation may, in loose phraseology, be called a transcript or copy of her thoughts or conceptions, but in no correct sense can it be called a copy of her book."

1867 A.D.: Charles Dickens lobbied the American Congress to recognize the copyright of British authors, to no avail. American publishers were reprinting their works without permission, and neglecting to pay royalties.

1870 A.D.: The administration of copyright registrations moved into the control of the Library of Congress Copyright Office.

1884 A.D.: The Supreme Court ruled that photographs can be copyrighted.

1906 A.D.: Mark Twain spoke to a Congressional committee, and urged them to extend copyright to the term of the author's life plus 50 years.

1909 A.D.: The Copyright Act was revised to expand coverage on types of authorship; including literary, dramatic and musical works.

1971 A.D.: Congress decided that musical recordings, not just the compositions, should be covered by copyright. (PBS)

1976 A.D.: The Copyright Act of 1976 set the duration of copyright coverage to include the life of the author, plus fifty years. Originally, the act was to limit the duration period at 50 years, but, the U.S. had to agree to the longer period in order to get international protection of U.S. copyrights.

1988 A.D.: The United States agreed to the terms of the 1886 Berne Convention, which promotes international standards in copyright protection. One of the resulting changes was the elimination of copyright notice for copyright protection. Today, nearly all private creations are copyrighted and protected, whether or not it was registered with the Copyright Office or carries a copyright notice.

1998 A.D.: President Clinton signed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which addresses intellectual property on the Internet.

1998 A.D.: Congress voted unanimously to extend copyright protection by 20 extra years. Most famously, the move keeps Disney's early cartoons, including Mickey Mouse, from passing into public domain.

2000 A.D.: Napster, an online music sharing site, is shut down for helping users share music, free of charge, and without paying royalties. In the aftermath, Napster is sold, and restyled as a for-profit music download site.

2003 A.D.: After hearing a challenge to the 1998 Copyright Extension Act, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law.

2007 A.D.: The Library Copyright Alliance (a consortium that consists of the American Association of Law Libraries, the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the Medical Library Association, and the Special Libraries Association) sends a letter about misleading copyright notices to the Federal Trade Commission. The letter states, "Patrons are confused by the clear contradiction between this copyright warning, which states that certain copies are permitted, and the warnings contained in some books, which state that no copies are permitted without the copyright owner’s express permission."

2008 A.D.: Harvard University launches plans to publish scholarly work on an open access website in order to aid the dissemination of research and ideas. Authors will retain their copyright.

What’s next? Check out the Copyright/Library news ticker at the bottom of this site, as well as the links on the right.

Can I Have an Extension?

noreply@blogger.com (Aspen Walker) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:21:00 +0000

How has the length of copyright protection expanded over time?

1790 28 years (14 years from publication; and one more 14 year extension, if the author is isn’t pushing daisies).

1831 42 years (28 years from publication, and one 14 year renewal option).

1909 56 years (28 years from publication, and renewable for up to 28 years).

1976 Life of author, plus 50 years; 75 years from publication, or 100 years from creation.

1998 Life of author, plus 70 years; in the case of anonymous works, protection extends 95 years from publication, or 100 years from creation.

Terms of U.S. Copyright: What You Need to Know TODAY

noreply@blogger.com (Aspen Walker) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:16:00 +0000

Works Created in 1978 or Later

Single Author: Life of Author, Plus 70 Years
Joint Authors: Life, Plus 70 Years After Last Surviving Author’s Death
Anonymous/Corporate: 95 Years After First Publication, or 120 Years
Authors/ Work Made for Hire: After First Date of Creation (whichever expires first)

Published Before 1923: In Public Domain

Created Before 1978, but Not Published/Registered on 1/1/1978: Life Plus 70 Years, or 95/120, or Through 2002 (Whichever is Greater).

Common(ly Misunderstood) Terms

noreply@blogger.com (Aspen Walker) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 05:16:00 +0000

Copyright: the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something (as a literary, musical, or artistic work)

Copyrightable Works:

Literary Works; Musical Works; Dramatic Works; Pantomimes & Choreographic Works; Pictorial, Graphic & Sculptural Works; Motion Pictures & AV Works; Sound Recordings; Architectural Works

But Not:
Ideas, Procedures, Processes, Systems or Concepts.

Parody walks a fine line between violating copyright by being derivative, and finding protection under Fair Use doctrine.

Fair Use: a legal doctrine that portions of copyrighted materials may be used without permission of the copyright owner, provided the use is fair and reasonable, does not substantially impair the value of the materials, and does not curtail the profits reasonably expected by the owner.

Trademark: a device (as a word) pointing distinctly to the origin or ownership of merchandise to which it is applied and legally reserved to the exclusive use of the owner as maker or seller.

Patent: an official document conferring a right or privilege; a writing securing for a term of years the exclusive right to make, use, or sell an invention.

Intellectual Property : property (as an idea, invention, or process) that derives from the work of the mind or intellect; also : an application, right, or registration relating to this.

Public Domain: the realm embracing property rights that belong to the community at large, are unprotected by copyright or patent, and are subject to appropriation by anyone. Works in the public domain include:

Materials that Were Never Copyrighted
Works with Expired Copyright
Works of the U.S. Government (like the Human Genome Project)

Tip! Looking for graphics & other media that are in the public domain? Try:

Creative Commons: A compromise between full copyright (no use without permission), and public domain (no permission required). Creative Commons' licenses let others copy and distribute work under specific conditions.