The Evolution of Copyright
Beau Brice, Tiffany Liu, Ivar Gunderson,
Lynn Freitas, Raymond Rimorin
Copyright. A set of exclusive rights
regulating the use of a particular
expression of an idea or information.
-Wikipedia
A Brief History
The before
Printing press and privileges
Stationers’ Company
Statute of Anne
Publishers vs. Scotland
Berne Convention
Universal Copyright Convention
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Prehistory
before the advent of printing: no gain from
piracy – pirate must invest same amount of
labor as original publisher
after the invention of the printing press:
– cost of printing declined
– value of literary content increased
The Crown
prevent publication of heretical or seditious
works
printing industry: new source of revenue and
favors
printing patents
– Tottel: printing of all law books
– Byrd & Tallis: printing of all music
– protected from parliamentary and judicial attack
Stationers’ Company
founded in 1403
guild of scribes (later replaced by printers),
bookbinders, and booksellers
absolute power over publishing – subject only
to the Crown’s authority
only guild members could print texts
power to search out, seize, and destroy
offending works
perpetual rights
Authors and the Guild
authors could not become members of the
Stationers’ Company
author was paid a lump sum for the right to
print and distribute his text
author had no right to exploit the value of the
text itself
The Licensing Act of 1643
 the Crown decided what could be published
 Stationers’ Company enforced the censorship
 1649 – Licensing Act expired
– Stationers retained nominal control: loss of power to seize,
destroy, and levy fines against offending works and presses
– action for monetary damages in law court: impossible for a
publisher “to prove the tenth or hundredth part of damages
he suffers, because 1000 counterfeit copies may be
dispersed into as many different hands, all over the
kingdom, and he is not able to prove the sale of 10”
A Different Approach
new legislative strategy: putting the interests
of writers and readers first
1706 – Stationers began petitioning for an
easily enforced property right
three years of lobbying brought about the
Statute of Anne
Statute of Anne (1709-10)
 An Act for the Encouragement of Learning by Vesting
the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or Purchasers
of Such Copies, during the time therein mentioned.
 First copyright law in the Kingdom of Great Britain.
 A public copyright system that applied to the public in
general.
 Copyright originated in the author.
 Placed a time limitation on authors.
 Replaced the monopolies enjoyed by the Stationer’s
Company.
 Authors, rather than printers, were granted the right to
reproduce their own works.
Berne Convention (1886)
International Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works.
Common copyright among several sovereign
nations.
Copyright is granted automatically to creative
works.
Protection for the lifetime of the author plus
50 years.
Universal Copyright Convention (1952)
 Adopted @ Geneva.
 No signatory nation shall favor domestic authors
more than authors of other signatory nations.
 Formal copyright notices must appear:
− © symbol
− name of copyright owner
− year of first publication
 The minimum copyright term in member nations is
the life of the author plus 25 years.
 All member nations must grant an exclusive right
of translation for a 7 year period.
Copyright in the Performing Arts
Stage Plays
Movies
Broadcast Media
Plays
Publishing:
– Book Publishing
– Dramatist’s Play Service
– Samuel French
Performance rights
– Royalties
– Content
Movies and Broadcast Media
Transfer of copyright to producer
Transfer of creative control
Role of trade unions (writer’s guild)
Fair Use
U.S. Fair Use
§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A,
the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use
by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any
other means specified by that section, for purposes
such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching
(including multiple copies for classroom use),
scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of
copyright. In determining whether the use made of a
work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be
considered shall include —
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether
such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit
educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in
relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or
value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a
finding of fair use if such finding is made upon
consideration of all the above factors.
U.K. Fair Use
Research and private study.
29.—(1) Fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work for the
purposes of research or private study does not infringe any copyright in the work
or, in the case of a published edition, in the typographical arrangement.
(2) Fair dealing with the typographical arrangement of a published edition for
the purposes mentioned in subsection (1) does not infringe any copyright in the
arrangement.
(3) Copying by a person other than the researcher or student himself is not fair
dealing if—
(a) in the case of a librarian, or a person acting on behalf of a librarian, he does anything
which regulations under section 40 would not permit to be done under section 38
or 39 (articles or parts of published works: restriction on multiple copies of same
material), or
(b) in any other case, the person doing the copying knows or has reason to believe that it
will result in copies of substantially the same material being provided to more than
one person at substantially the same time and for substantially the same purpose.
Criticism, review and news reporting.
30.—(1) Fair dealing with a work for the purpose of criticism or review, of
that or another work or of a performance of a work, does not infringe any
copyright in the work provided that it is accompanied by a sufficient
acknowledgement.
(2) Fair dealing with a work (other than a photograph) for the purpose of
reporting current events does not infringe any copyright in the work provided that
(subject to subsection (3)) it is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement.
(3) No acknowledgement is required in connection with the reporting of current
events by means of a sound recording, film, broadcast or cable programme.
Direct Copyright Infringement on the
Internet
BitTorrent and file sharing
Pirated Materials
MySpace
YouTube
Video Clips
More Examples
Access to Knowledge
Public Libraries have the technology to
digitally scan books and place them on the
Internet for easier access.
Google Library Project: Links multiple
databases of scanned books by universities into
a search engine.
New Copyright Issues: Internet
Evolution in Communication
Redefinition of Intellectual Property
Copyright Enforcement
Copyright the text/form or idea?
Bibliography – Print Sources
Baksik, Corinna. “Fair Use or Exploitation? The Google Book Search
Controversy.”
Portal : Libraries and the Academy Vol.6, Iss. 4; pg. 399, 17 pgs. ProQuest.
University of Washington. 08 Nov. 2006.
http://www.proquest.com/
Field, Syd: Selling A Screenplay, Dell Publishing, 1989
Jackson, Matt. “From Private to Public: Reexamining the Technological Basis
for Copyright.” Journal of Communication New York: Jun 2002 Vol.52,
Iss. 2, p. 416. ProQuest. University of Washington. 08 Nov. 2006.
http://www.proquest.com/
Goldman, William: Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of
Hollywood and Screenwriting Warner Books, 1983
Goldstein, Lori. "Passive" ISPs Are Not Directly Liable for Copyright
Infringement.” Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal Clifton:
Sep 2004. Vol. 16, Iss. 9, Pg. 8. ProQuest. University of Washington. 09
Nov. 2006 http://www.proquest.com/
Goldstein, Paul: Copyright’s Highway from Gutenberg to the Celestial Jukebox,
Leland Stanford, Junior University, 2003Loewenstein, Joseph: The
Author’s Due, University of Chicago Press, 2002
Bibliography – Internet Sources
Encyclopedia Britannica Online
<http://www.britannica.com>
The U.K. Patent Office Homepage. 2006. 09 Nov. 2006.
<http://www.patent.gov.uk/copy.htm>
United States Copyright Office Homepage. 27 Oct 2006.
09 Nov. 2006.
< http://www.copyright.gov/>
Wikipedia
<http://www.wikipedia.com>