Copyright law has repeatedly adapted as new technologies changed how creative works are made, distributed, and consumed. This lesson focuses on the technological pressures that led to the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Act’s major reforms.
In the nineteenth century, copyright law expanded to cover technologies such as photography, motion pictures, and mechanical reproductions of music, including phonographs and player pianos. The twentieth century brought a much faster succession of changes: radio, broadcast and cable television, VCRs, computers and software, video games, CDs, digital recorders, the Internet, and eventually online music and movie services.
All flashcards
Why has copyright law repeatedly adapted to technological change?
New technologies create ways to make, reproduce, perform, distribute, and consume creative works that existing rules may not address.
What did the Copyright Act of 1976 change about cable television?
It extended copyright protection to works performed over cable television, addressing a gap in earlier rules.
What does fixation mean in copyright law?
A work is embodied in a tangible form from which it can be perceived or reproduced.
What is the general purpose of the public domain?
It allows the public to use works without seeking copyright permission.
Does DRM-free distribution mean a work has no copyright?
No. It means the digital file lacks that technical restriction; copyright protection may still apply.
Quiz questions
What did the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 require of manufacturers and importers of digital audio recording devices?Answer: Use copy-control technology and pay royalties to copyright owners for each device sold.
Under the DMCA, what can qualify an online service that hosts user content for safe-harbor protection?Answer: Meeting applicable conditions, including appropriately responding to notices about identified infringing material.
For many works, what copyright term resulted from the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998?Answer: The author's life plus 70 years after the author's death.
Whom was SoundExchange authorized to represent in 2007 on specified digital platforms?Answer: Performers whose music aired on platforms such as satellite and Internet radio.
What area of copyright practice did the TEACH Act of 2002 address?Answer: Certain educational uses of copyrighted performances and displays, especially in distance education.