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561
Finnian Vs. Colmcille
According to Irish legend, AD 561 was the first arguement over the status of cultural works as 'property.' In the legend, Colmcille visits his old teacher Finnian and borrows a religious book from Finnian's collection. Colmcille produces a hand written copy of the book that he borrows. When Finnian realizes that Colmicille made a copy of his book without permisison, Finnian demanded that Colmicille's copy be handed to Finnin immediately. Colmicille refused to hand over the book and the case was -
First Exsitence of Copyright Law
The first copy right law came into exsistence in Englad in 1710. The copy right law became necessary because book publishing companies in Ireland and Scotland were taking their author's manuscripts, repreinting them and selling in country at lower prices. Many felt that the book publishing companies actions were unacceptable. Therefoe, laws were made that gave authors the right to make copies of their work for a period of 14 years.After the 14 years, the work would enter the Public Doman and any -
1787 U.S. Constitution
Article one of the constitution requires that “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.” -
Copy Right Act of 1790
The Copyright Act of 1790 is passed under the new U.S. Constiution. Exclusive rights for 14 years were granted to authors of books, maps, and charts. -
1831 Copyright Terms Extended
Copyright terms are extended to 28 years, with an optional renewal of 14 years. Music is added to works that are protected under copyright law. Music can not be printed or sold without authorization. -
Stowe vs. Thomas
Harriet Beecher Stowe sued F.W. Thomas, publisher of a German-language periodical in 1853. Thomas translated Uncle Tom's Cabin into German and sold it in the United States without Stowe's permission. However in court it was decided that this act was lawful. The judge explained that hat once an author published his work, "he can have no longer an exclusive possession of them." -
International Copyright Treaty
American copyright law only applied to American publications, therefore European authors were unable to profit from their publications. In 1890 authors, publishers, and printers' unions joined together to support an international copyright bill. -
Revision of the U.S. Copyright Act
A major revision of the U.S. Copyright Act was completed in 1909. The bill broadened the scope of categories protected to include all works of authorship, and extended the term of protection to twenty-eight years with a possible renewal of twenty-eight. The Congress addressed the difficulty of balancing the public interest with proprietor's rights -
Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company takes the technology from the movie The Jazz Singer. Mickey Mouse was copied from a character called Steamboat Willie. Many of Disney’s movies, which came out in various later decades were not original and took concepts and ideas from others as well. -
Copyrights Revision Act
The Copyright Revision Act extended copyright terms for works created on or after this date to life of the author and 50 years after the author’s death. Fair use and other exceptions to exclusive copyrights are formalized. Registration was no longer required. -
Playboy vs. Frena
An electronic bulletin board operator, Frena, violated Playboy's copyright when one of their photographs was digitized and placed on the bulletin board system by one subscriber and downloaded by another subscriber. It did not matter that Frena may have been unaware of the copyright infringement. Intent to infringe is not needed to find copyright infringement. -
Amendment to Section 304 of Title 17
Congress amended Section 304 of Title 17making copyright renewal automatic. The amendment dramatically curtailed the entry into the public domain of works protected by copyright before 1978. -
Digital Millenium Copyright Act
The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) into law by President Clinton. The law implemented the WIPO Internet Treaties, established safe harbors for online service providers, and allowed temporary copies of programs during computer maintenance. Amendments which facilitated Internet broadcasting and created protection for boat hull designs were made to the Copyright Act.
