Why Copyright?
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;
-U.S. CONST., art. I, § 8, cl. 8.
The first important question, in my view, is
Figuring out why we have copyright is important. It allows us look at copyright in the context of its purpose. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 of the US Constitution (above) provides the basis for copyright and other forms of intellectual property law in the United States. So, what does this section of the Constitution tell us?
First, it should be noted that copyright is important. The subject is important enough that the founding fathers believed that it deserved to be included in the Constitution. The above section of the Constitution states that Congress is authorized to create certain types of law.
- The purpose of these laws is to ultimately benefit the public by promoting "the progress of science and useful arts;" that is, learning and knowledge.
- The means of this promotion is in the creation of laws that give creators exclusive rights to their creations for a limited time.
As a result of these laws, creators can benefit financially from their creations, which should provide them an incentive to continue creating. The public benefits because the authors and inventors continue creating original works that these creators may not have otherwise developed and because these creations are freely usable by the public once the limited time has passed. It is important for us to remember that copyright law is intended to proscribe a balance between the interests of the authors and the interests of the public.
That isn't to say that the inclusion of this section in the Constitution wasn't contentious. Our country's founders had some concerns of their own. Madison and Jefferson had some interesting correspondence on the subject:
http://www.cni.org/Hforums/cni-copyright/1999-01/0327.html
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2001/7/23/23214/3438
This correspondence shows that Madison and Jefferson viewed copyright as a limited monopoly- with both positive and negative aspects, but ultimately needed to encourage authors and inventors to contribute their works to society.
Copyright is a part of intellectual property law. Intellectual property is a term that is used to describe creations that are products of thought. Intellectual property law includes subjects such as copyright, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. The above section of the Constitution is the basis for two of those forms: copyrights and patents. The general term is intellectual property because in many ways, these subjects are legally treated like physical property. That being said, there are some pretty significant differences between physical property and the concept of intellectual property. One of the most important differences was expressed by Jefferson, who stated that "he who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me" (letter to Isaac McPherson, 1813).
If you are interested in the history of copyright, there are several excellent resources available. Siva Vaidhyanathan's Copyrights and Copywrongs, in particular, has an interesting section on copyright history. (Brief note: Siva's one of the people I've interviewed about copyright, and the MP3 of that interview is in the interview section if you're interested.) So now that we've talked about why we have copyright, we can begin to discuss what copyright is.
Matters of Contention
Some people take the term intellectual "property" very seriously, and contend that copyright is an actual property right. In my opinion, that view is not particularly sustainable, personally, given the historical context of copyright and the major differences between physical and intellectual property. Copyright is a statutory right- created by law- and is not a natural right (which would be things like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness). This view of copyright is generally known as the utilitarian view of copyright, which is what copyright in the US was based on.
I don't know if I can properly stress how controversial different views on the "property" in intellectual property are. Suffice to say, if you do research in the area (or even a Google search), you'll find a lot of conflict.
Another popular contention is that copyright law exists to protect authors. While copyright law does protect authors, its main purpose is to benefit the public. However, it should be noted that when creators create, the public benefits, so protecting their rights is important.
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