Intellectual Property

The origin of copyright protection in this country is the Constitution of the United States, which directs the Congress to pass laws “To promote the Progress of [Page 248]Science and the useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” The central purpose of copyright is not to give a monopoly or economic reward to the author, but to promote the betterment of society by encouraging the creation of and the public's access to useful works. This balance of interests is codified by granting several exclusive rights to owners and then limiting those rights in certain circumstances. The current copyright law of the United States is the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended (‘the ...