Copyright Act of 1790

Last updated
Copyright Act of 1790
Great Seal of the United States (obverse).svg
Long titleAn 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
Enacted bythe 1st United States Congress
Citations
Public law Pub. L.   1–15
Statutes at Large 1  Stat.   124
Legislative history
Major amendments
1802 Amendment, [1] Supplemental Copyright Act of 1819 [2]
United States Supreme Court cases
Wheaton v. Peters
The Copyright Act of 1790 in the Columbian Centinel Copyright Act of 1790 in Colombian Centinel.jpg
The Copyright Act of 1790 in the Columbian Centinel

The Copyright Act of 1790 was the first federal copyright act to be instituted in the United States, though most of the states had passed various legislation securing copyrights in the years immediately following the Revolutionary War. The stated object of the act was the "encouragement of learning," and it achieved this by securing authors the "sole right and liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing and vending" the copies of their "maps, charts, and books" for a term of 14 years, with the right to renew for one additional 14-year term should the copyright holder still be alive.

Contents

Early developments

The 1710 British Statute of Anne did not apply to the American colonies. [3] Only three private copyright acts were passed in the colonies prior to 1783. [4] That year, the Continental Congress concluded "that nothing is more properly a man's own an the fruit of his study, and that the protection and security of literary property would greatly tends to encourage genius and to promote useful discoveries." [5] But the Continental Congress had no power under the Articles of Confederation to authorize a federal copyright law; [5] instead, it passed a resolution encouraging the states "to secure to the authors or publishers of any new book not hitherto printed... the copy right of such books for a certain time not less than fourteen years from the first publication; and to secure to the said authors, if they shall survive the term first mentioned,... the copy right of such books for another term of time no less than fourteen years". [4] [6] By 1786, the only state that had not implemented a copyright law was Delaware. [7] Seven states modeled their law on the Statute of Anne and the Continental Congress' resolution, providing two fourteen-year terms. The remaining five states used non-renewable terms, which lasted fourteen, twenty or twenty-one years. [7]

James Madison of Virginia and Charles C. Pinckney of South Carolina introduced proposals for the Copyright Clause during the Constitutional Convention 1787. [8] The Copyright Clause authorized Congress "to promote the progress of science and useful arts" with utilitarian regimes for copyright and patent. [7]

Legislative history

During the first session of the 1st United States Congress in 1789, the House of Representatives considered enacting a copyright law. The historian Davit Ramsay petitioned Congress seeking to restrict the publication of his History of the American Revolution on April 15. Congressmen Thomas Tudor Tucker, Alexander White, and Benjamin Huntington examined his claims and a copyright committee consisting of Huntington, Lambert Cadwalader, and Benjamin Contee began drafting the legislation on April 20. Jedidiah Morse, Nicholas Pike, and Hannah Adams each also petitioned Congress with their interests in restricting the printing of texts. Their bill moved to the Committee of the Whole House in June, but the matter was postponed in anticipation of the first recess, to be taken up again when the House reconvened. [9]

Both houses of Congress pursued a copyright law more pointedly during 1790's second session. They responded to President George Washington's 1790 State of the Union Address, [10] [11] in which he urged Congress to pass legislation designed for "the promotion of Science and Literature" so as to better educate the public. [12] [13] This led to the Patent Act of 1790 and, shortly thereafter, the Copyright Act of 1790.

House of Representatives

The scope of what works would be covered by the law's exclusivity was contended in the House. When he reintroduced the matter, Aedanus Burke wanted to establish a first law about copyright regarding "literary property", but Alexander White called for the expansion of copyright beyond writings on the behalf of Jedidiah Morse, who believed unauthorized copying of his American Geography would hurt his business. [14]

The need to re-raise the copyright issue, among other items left unresolved at the end of the first session, required the House to clarify some order of business problems over whether or not they could reopen unfinished business from a previous session. [15] That settled, the House established a drafting committee for the law on February 1, chaired by Abraham Baldwin. [16]

The act

The bill was signed into law on May 31, 1790 by George Washington and published in its entirety throughout the country shortly after. The act granted copyright for a term of "fourteen years from the time of recording the title thereof" and one optional renewal. [7] It restricted books, maps, and charts. [17] Although musical compositions were not mentioned in the text of the act, and would not be expressly covered by copyright until the Copyright Act of 1831, they were routinely registered under the 1790 Act as "books". [17] The act also did not mention paintings or drawings, which were not covered until the enactment of the Copyright Act of 1870. [18]

Provisions

The British Statute of Anne was used as a basis. [7] The first sentences of the two laws are almost identical. Both require registration in order for a work to receive copyright protection; similarly, both require that copies of the work be deposited in officially designated repositories such as the Library of Congress in the United States, and the Oxford and Cambridge universities in the United Kingdom. The Statute of Anne and the Copyright Act of 1790 both provided for an initial term of 14 years, renewable once by living authors for an additional 14 years, for works not yet published. The Statute of Anne differed from the 1790 Act, however, in providing a 21-year term of restriction, with no option for renewal, for works already published at the time the law went into effect (1710). [19] The 1790 Act only offered a 14-year term for previously published works.[ citation needed ]

Newspaper advert: "United States and Foreign Copyright. Patents and Trade-Marks A Copyright will protect you from Pirates. And make you a fortune." Newspaper advert copyright patent and trade mark.jpg
Newspaper advert: "United States and Foreign Copyright. Patents and Trade-Marks A Copyright will protect you from Pirates. And make you a fortune."

Geographic reach

The Copyright Act of 1790 applied exclusively to citizens of the United States; [17] works created outside the United States or by people who were not U.S. citizens were not copyrightable in the U.S. until the International Copyright Act of 1891. [18] Consequently, various foreign authors, such as Charles Dickens, complained about not receiving royalty payments for copies of their work sold in the U.S. [20]

Federal law

At the time, works only received protection under federal statutory copyright if the statutory formalities, such as a proper copyright notice, were satisfied. If this was not the case, the work immediately entered into the public domain. In 1834 the Supreme Court ruled in Wheaton v. Peters , [21] a case similar to the British Donaldson v Beckett of 1774, that although the author of an unpublished work had a common law right to control the first publication of that work, the author did not have a common law right to control reproduction following the first publication of the work. [7]

Amendments

The act was first amended on April 29, 1802, [22] extending copyright restriction to etchings and, for the first time, requiring notice of copyright registration on copies of the works. The act did not specify a consequence of failing to include that notice; however, the federal case Ewer v. Coxe established that the failure to include notice invalidated a copyright. [18] [23]

The act was also amended on February 15, 1819, to expand the jurisdiction of circuit courts (analogous to today's district courts) to allow them to hear cases on patents and copyrights. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copyright</span> Legal concept regulating rights of a creative work

A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself. A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States and fair dealings doctrine in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statute of Anne</span> 1710 legislation in Great Britain regulating copyright

The Statute of Anne, also known as the Copyright Act 1709 or the Copyright Act 1710, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1710, which was the first statute to provide for copyright regulated by the government and courts, rather than by private parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Copyright Office</span> Government body in the United States

The United States Copyright Office (USCO), a part of the Library of Congress, is a United States government body that registers copyright claims, records information about copyright ownership, provides information to the public, and assists Congress and other parts of the government on a wide range of copyright issues. It maintains online records of copyright registration and recorded documents within the copyright catalog, which is used by copyright title researchers who are attempting to clear a chain of title for copyrighted works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of copyright</span>

The history of copyright starts with early privileges and monopolies granted to printers of books. The British Statute of Anne 1710, full title "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", was the first copyright statute. Initially copyright law only applied to the copying of books. Over time other uses such as translations and derivative works were made subject to copyright and copyright now covers a wide range of works, including maps, performances, paintings, photographs, sound recordings, motion pictures and computer programs.

Common law copyright is the legal doctrine that grants copyright protection based on common law of various jurisdictions, rather than through protection of statutory law.

Perpetual copyright, also known as indefinite copyright, is copyright that lasts indefinitely. Perpetual copyright arises either when a copyright has no finite term from outset, or when a copyright's original finite term is perpetually extended. The first of these two scenarios is highly uncommon, as the current laws of all countries with copyright statutes set a standard limit on the duration, based either on the date of creation/publication, or on the date of the creator's death. Exceptions have sometimes been made, however, for unpublished works. Usually, special legislation is required, granting a perpetual copyright to a specific work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Copyright Act of 1891</span> US federal legislation

The International Copyright Act of 1891 is the first U.S. congressional act that extended limited protection to foreign copyright holders from select nations. Formally known as the "International Copyright Act of 1891", but more commonly referred to as the "Chace Act" after Sen. Jonathan Chace of Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uruguay Round Agreements Act</span> US free trade law with implications for intellectual property

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act is an Act of Congress in the United States that implemented in U.S. law the Marrakesh Agreement of 1994. The Marrakesh Agreement was part of the Uruguay Round of negotiations which transformed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) into the World Trade Organization (WTO). One of its effects is to give United States copyright protection to foreign works that had previously been in the public domain in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copyright Act of 1909</span> US federal legislation

The Copyright Act of 1909 was a landmark statute in United States statutory copyright law. It went into effect on July 1, 1909. The 1909 Act was repealed and superseded by the Copyright Act of 1976, which went into effect on January 1, 1978; but some of 1909 Act's provisions continue to apply to copyrighted works created before 1978. It allowed for works to be copyrighted for a period of 28 years from the date of publication and extended the renewal term from 14 years to 28 years, for a maximum of 56 years.

The rule of the shorter term, also called the comparison of terms, is a provision in international copyright treaties. The provision allows that signatory countries can limit the duration of copyright they grant to foreign works under national treatment to no more than the copyright term granted in the country of origin of the work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copyright Act of 1976</span> United States law

The Copyright Act of 1976 is a United States copyright law and remains the primary basis of copyright law in the United States, as amended by several later enacted copyright provisions. The Act spells out the basic rights of copyright holders, codified the doctrine of "fair use", and for most new copyrights adopted a unitary term based on the date of the author's death rather than the prior scheme of fixed initial and renewal terms. It became Public Law number 94-553 on October 19, 1976, and went into effect on January 1, 1978.

The copyright law of the United States grants monopoly protection for "original works of authorship". With the stated purpose to promote art and culture, copyright law assigns a set of exclusive rights to authors: to make and sell copies of their works, to create derivative works, and to perform or display their works publicly. These exclusive rights are subject to a time and generally expire 70 years after the author's death or 95 years after publication. In the United States, works published before January 1, 1929, are in the public domain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorvald Solberg</span> First Registrar of Copyrights (1852–1949)

Thorvald Solberg was the first Register of Copyrights (1897–1930) in the United States Copyright Office. He was a noted authority on copyright and played an instrumental role in shaping the Copyright Act of 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public domain in the United States</span>

Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by the intellectual property right known as copyright, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired. Works automatically enter the public domain when their copyright has expired. The United States Copyright Office is a federal agency tasked with maintaining copyright records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copyright Act of 1831</span> U.S. federal copyright legislation

The Copyright Act of 1831 was the first major revision to the U.S. Copyright Law. The bill is largely the result of lobbying efforts by American lexicographer Noah Webster.

Evans v. Jordan, 13 U.S. 199 (1815), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that someone who had copied a patented invention after the patent had expired, and before the patent was restored by a private bill, would be liable for damages for patent infringement for any use continuing after the patent was restored. It was the second published Supreme Court decision on patent law, and the first of four Supreme Court cases dealing with the Oliver Evans flour mill patent. Like other Supreme Court patent cases prior to Evans v. Eaton, however, this case did not deal with substantive patent law, but only with issues of statutory construction and infringement liability.

The copyright law of the United States has a long and complicated history, dating back to colonial times. It was established as federal law with the Copyright Act of 1790. This act was updated many times, including a major revision in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copyright Act of 1870</span> Former United States law

The Copyright Act of 1870, also called the Patent Act of 1870 and the Trade Mark Act of 1870, was a revision to United States intellectual property law, covering copyrights and patents. Eight sections of the bill, sometimes called the Trade Mark Act of 1870, introduced trademarks to United States federal law, although that portion was later deemed unconstitutional after the Trade-Mark Cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Kentucky Volunteer</span> Song

"The Kentucky Volunteer" is a song published in the United States on January 6, 1794. Its music was composed by Raynor Taylor and its lyrics by "a Lady of Philadelphia". It is noteworthy for being the first musical composition copyrighted under the new United States Constitution. It was also the first work published by Benjamin Carr, an English musician who had just immigrated to Philadelphia from England, to become the country's most prolific printer of music in that decade. The actual identity of the lyricist remains a mystery.

Paige v. Banks, 80 U.S. 608 (1872), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held an agreement that transfers a copyright from the original author to a second party for perpetuity does not end with the statutory limit of copyright at the time the parties made the deal. If a later act of Congress extends copyright and the extension is available to the work, the second party still controls the copyright or perpetual license to that copyright.

References

  1. ↑ 2  Stat.   171
  2. ↑ Ferch, Pricilla. "Statutory Damages Under the Copyright Act of 1976". Loyola University Chicago Law Journal. 15 (3). Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  3. ↑ Bracha, Oren (2010). "The Adventures of the Statute of Anne in the Land of Unlimited Possibilities: The Life of a Legal Transplant" (PDF). Berkeley Technology Law Journal. 25: 1427, 1440. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-12.
  4. 1 2 Peter K, Yu (2007). Intellectual Property and Information Wealth: Copyright and related rights. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 142. ISBN   978-0-275-98883-8.
  5. 1 2 Patry, William F. (2000) [1994]. "Introduction: The Constitutional Clause". Copyright Law and Practice. BNA. ISBN   978-0871796851. OCLC   30355355.
  6. ↑ Resolution passed by the Continental Congress, recommending the several States to secure to such Authors or Publishers of New Books the Copyright of such Books, May 2, 1783, reprinted in Copyright Enactments, 1783-1900: Comprising the Copyright Resolution of the Colonial Congress, 1783; the Copyright Laws of the Original States, 1783-1786; the Constitutional Provision Concerning Copyright Legislation, and the Public and Private Copyright Laws Enacted by Congress from 1790 to 1900; Together with the Presidential Proclamations Regarding International Copyright. Library of Congress. U.S. Copyright Office. 1900. p.  9.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Peter K, Yu (2007). Intellectual Property and Information Wealth: Copyright and related rights. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 143. ISBN   978-0-275-98883-8.
  8. ↑ Donner, Irah (July 1992). "The Copyright Clause of the U. S. Constitution: Why Did the Framers Include It with Unanimous Approval?". The American Journal of Legal History. 36 (3): 361–378. doi:10.2307/845426. JSTOR   845426.
  9. ↑ Solberg, Thorvald (1905). Copyright in Congress, 1789-1904. Washington : Govt. print. off. pp.  112–115.
  10. ↑ Richardson, James D., ed. (1897). A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Vol. 1 (1905 ed.). Bureau of National Literature and Art. p. 67.
  11. ↑ Solberg, Thorvald (1905). Copyright in Congress, 1789-1904. Washington : Govt. print. off. p.  117.
  12. ↑ Washington, George (January 8, 1790). "State of the Union Address 1790". George Washington Mount Vernon. 2016 Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  13. ↑ Solberg, Thorvald (1905). Copyright in Congress, 1789-1904. Washington : Govt. print. off. pp.  115–116.
  14. ↑ 1 Annals of Cong. 1117-8 (Joseph Gales, ed. 1790)
  15. ↑ 1 Annals of Cong. 1110-2 (Joseph Gales, ed. 1790)
  16. ↑ 1 Annals of Cong. 1143 (Joseph Gales, ed. 1790)
  17. 1 2 3 Patry, William F. (2000) [1994]. "Introduction: The First Copyright Act". Copyright Law and Practice. BNA. ISBN   978-0871796851. OCLC   30355355 . Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  18. 1 2 3 Patry, William F. (2000) [1994]. "Introduction: Statutory Revision". Copyright Law and Practice. BNA. ISBN   978-0871796851. OCLC   30355355 . Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  19. ↑ Patry, William F. (2000) [1994]. "Introduction: England and the Statute of Anne". Copyright Law and Practice. BNA. ISBN   978-0871796851. OCLC   30355355 . Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  20. ↑ Hoern, Thomas (January 2016). "Charles Dickens and the international copyright law". Journal of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. 63 (2): 341–352.
  21. ↑ Wheaton v. Peters, 33 U.S. (8 Pet.) 591 (1834)
  22. ↑ Solberg, Thorvald (1905). Copyright in Congress, 1789-1904. Washington : Govt. print. off. p.  84.
  23. ↑ Ewer v. Coxe
  24. ↑ Solberg, Thorvald (1905). Copyright in Congress, 1789-1904. Washington : Govt. print. off. p.  85.

Wikisource-logo.svg Works related to Copyright Act of 1790 at Wikisource

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.