In 1976, the Copyright Act was not only revised, it was overhauled. The 1976 revision of the Copyright Act now forms the foundation for copyright protection under United States law. It solidified the frequent law doctrine of fair use and greatly enhanced the protections granted original works.

In section 102 of the Act, copyright protection is accessible for “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now recognized or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.” The key alter from the prior law is that works no longer have to be published to take pleasure in copyright protection, and one want not affix the copyright mark (the “circle C”) to one’s work to trigger federal protection. Previous controlling law condemned original works to the public domain if the notice of copyright was not correctly included. State copyright protections were made all but superfluous by the federal revisions passed by Congress in 1976.

The 1976 revision granted five (five) exclusive rights to copyright holders: the proper to reproduce (copy), the appropriate to develop derivative works from the original, the correct to commercialize the function, the appropriate to perform the function publicly (if relevant), and the correct to display the work publicly (if relevant). In 1995 the correct to perform a sound recording by means of digital audio was added.

The doctrine of fair use was finally codified in the 1976 revision of the Copyright Act. Typical law, which was nicely settled on fair use, was lastly made black letter law. Section 106 denotes that the doctrine explicitly applies to any use of copyrighted function for news reporting, criticism, research, scholarship or teaching. Despite this definitive list, the fair use defense is not exclusively limited to just these activities. The Act gives a four prong factor test to decide whether or not fair use has occurred:

1) the purpose and character of the use (for instance, whether it is commercial or educational)
2) the nature of the copyrighted function (how creative is the work)
three) the quantity and substantiality of the portion of the original work employed and,
four) the effect of the use upon the original work in the market (or potential market). Like copyright protection normally in 1976, the fair use defense was later extended to unpublished works as nicely.

The previous term of protection for copyrighted works was greatly expanded by the 1976 revision. Before, copyright protection existed for a term of 28 years, with an optional extension of an additional 28 years. Thus, your total protection for copyrighted works was capped at 56 years. As of the 1976 revisions, protections had been granted to the originator of the work for his life plus fifty years. A flat 75 year term was enacted for anonymous or pseudonymous works, and works created for hire. More copyright protections were added by the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act in 1998. Protection now extends to 70 years following the originator’s death, and 95 years for works made for hire.

Copyright transfers were greatly clarified by the 1976 revision of the Copyright Act. The courts had muddied the presumption that the transfer of a copy of a function carried with it the presumption that the creative rights were transferred as well. That is now definitively not the case. Section 204 of the 1976 revision fully details the procedure for transferring ownership of a copyrighted function. A copyright holder need to sign a written statement of conveyance expressly transferring his or her ownership of the copyright to the recipient. Otherwise, there has been no transfer of the original function to the recipient.

Under the Act, 1 does not have to register your work with the Copyright Office in order to enjoy copyright protection nonetheless, an action for infringement can not be pursued until 1 registers with the Copyright Office, a process that can take up to six months. To register one’s function, the Act demands one copy and the requisite fees be deposited with the Office. Two copies are required if the work is published.

The 1976 revision of the Copyright Act greatly simplified the law and expanded protections for original works. It is often very good to locate an attorney familiar with copyright law and the Act’s revisions if you are interested in protecting your original function.

Copyright Law