Copyright law history

What is the history of copyright law in England?
Copyright law originated in the United Kingdom from a concept of common law; the Statute of Anne 1709.
It became statutory with the passing of the Copyright Act 1911.
The current act is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988..
Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S.
Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression.
Copyright covers both published and unpublished works.

The first federal copyright act was the Copyright Act of 1790. It granted copyright for a term of 14 years "from the time of recording the title thereof" with a Early developmentsEarly British copyright lawEarly United States copyright law

Overview

The history of copyright starts with early privileges and monopolies granted to printers of books. The British Statute of Anne 1710

Early developments

The earliest recorded historical case-law on the right to copy comes from ancient Ireland

Early privileges and monopolies

The origin of copyright law in most European countries lies in efforts by the church and governments to regulate and control the output of printers

Early British copyright law

In England the printers, known as stationers, formed a collective organisation, known as the Stationers' Company

Early French copyright law

In pre- revolutionary France all books needed to be approved by official censors and authors and publishers had to obtain a royal privilege before a book could

What did the Copyright Act of 1790 do?

The Copyright Act of 1790, An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Securing the Copies of Maps, Charts, and Books to the Authors and Proprietors of Such Copies, was modeled on the Statute of Anne (1710)

It granted American authors the right to print, re-print, or publish their work for a period of 14 years and to renew for another fourteen

When did copyright law start?

The history of American copyright law originated with the introduction of the printing press to England in the late fifteenth century

As the number of presses grew, authorities sought to control the publication of books by granting printers a near monopoly on publishing in England

Why did Stationers enact the Copyright Act in 1710?

Instead of focussing on the printers and publishers, Stationers’ now argued that the authors should have a right of ownership in what they wrote

This argument persuaded Parliament and led to the enactment of the first Copyright Act, the Statute of Anne, in 1710

The cornerstones of modern copyright law, the right to be identified as the creator or the work and economic property rights, have their roots in ancient Greek, Roman and Jewish cultures, and can be traced back as far as the 6th century B.C.E. in ancient Greece; but it was not until use of the movable type printing press became widespread across Europe that the need for statutory regulation was realised.Copyright law is part of a larger body of law called intellectual property. The first federal copyright law was enacted in 1790. Since that time, there have been four general revisions of the copyright law, in 1831, 1870, 1909 and 1976. There have also been a number of amendments to the copyright statute.