Copyright Law Boston College Law School January 9, 2003 Requirements - Fixation

Copyright Law Timeline 1556: Stationers’ Guild –Right to publish given to publishing houses –Content heavily regulated by government 1710: Statute of Anne –Right to make copies given to authors –Term: 14 years, plus 14 year renewal; certain formalities 1776: State Copyright Laws –Modeled on Statute of Anne –Numerous conflicting requirements –Constitutional grant of authority

Copyright Law Timeline U.S. Const. Art. I, § 8, cl. 8: –“To promote the progress of science and the useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries ”

Copyright Timeline (cont.) 1790: First Federal Copyright Act –14 years plus 14 year renewal –Originally books, but expanded to prints, music, photos, etc. 1909: First Major Overhaul –28 years, plus 28 year renewal –Expanded to encompass all writings 1976: Latest Major Overhaul –Life + 50, or 75 years for corporate authors –Formalities loosened

Copyright Timeline (cont.) Recent Amendments to 1976 Act –1980: Computer Software included –1988: Berne ratified; formalities eliminated –1990: Architectural Works protected –1992: Audio Home Recording Act –1998: Sony Bono Term Extension + Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Copyright Timeline (cont.) Trends –Steady trend of expansion of protection Covered works (from just books/maps to all works) Scope of rights (from copying to adaptation, perf., …) Duration (from 14 years to life plus 70) –Increasing complexity Originally generalist approach Now much more detailed and industry-specific

17 U.S.C. § 102 (a) Copyright protection subsists,… in original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression, …. Works of authorship include the following categories: –(1) literary works; –(2) musical works, …; –(3) dramatic works; –(4) pantomimes and choreographic works; –(5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; –(6) motion pictures and other audio visual works; –(7) sound recordings; and –(8) architectural works

White-Smith v. Apollo

Fixation 17 U.S.C. § 101: –“A work is ‘fixed’ in a tangible medium of expression when its embodiment in a copy …, by or under the authority of the author, is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration.”

Fixation Possible justifications –Constitutionally required –Defines scope of the entitlement Avoids unreasonable liability Evidentiary value in infringement action –Evidence of commercial importance of work –Marks point at which copying is problematic

Midway v. Artic

Assignment for Next Class Read II.B.1 - Originality - Basic Concepts