1.1 FOUNDATION OF COPYRIGHT LAW
Copyright was important to the founding fathers. Article I, section 8, clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution provides 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.”
The framers of the constitution viewed Copyright Laws as “the engine of free expression.”
The U.S. Congress is the governing body that has the right to legislate Copyright Law. Thus, copyright is a federal law that applies to all persons in all states and territories of the United States. Copyright law protects “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. Artistic works that are protected include all the Content described in the my Blog Post, “Types of Content Protected.”
