Copyright: a full history and its importance

On the last day of  May in 1790, the very first copyright law for the United States of America went into effect.

This law states that works like plays, photos, and paintings are protected by copyright. However, there was no US Copyright Office like we have today. Instead, therefore you would have to go to a local court to make sure your work was one of a kind. 

But why did we have to put copyright ways in place anyway? Shouldn’t it be a given that you shouldn’t take others' work and claim it as your own?

However, as we know, just because something a taboo doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

Why do we need copyright laws?

Renaissance painter from Italy, Parmigiano, according to The Collector, kept his works locked in a safe to avoid competition stealing his works.  

Plus, stealing somebody's work, especially their good work can give you a sense of pride if you get away with it. Having done no work and reaping the benefits can sound like a dream.

But there's an importance to artists owning their work. Even one that goes beyond monetary value. 

The Importance of Creativity

World Respected Poet Maya Angelou wrote “Creativity is your intelligence having fun” 

For example, Google has a well-known ‘Side project time’ where employees can spend 20% of their time at work. This lets employees' brains run wild with ideas and gave us things like Gmail and AdSense!

This is just showing us as it has been proven time and time again that some of the best ideas can come from the creativity of our minds.

When can somebody use someone else's work?

Some creative works and their reviews can fall under something called ‘Fair Use’ Harvard defines fair use “as the right to use a copyrighted work under certain conditions without permission of the copyright owner. The doctrine helps prevent a rigid application of copyright law that would stifle the very creativity the law is designed to foster”

In Layman's terms, in current situations, you don’t have to ask the copyright owner for permission to use their work. For example, if someone wanted to review a book on YouTube they would not have to ask the author to make the video as they are making something new and original out of the work.

Why should people care about copying?

Copying works affects everyone, whether they know it or not. Even if someone isn’t an artist themselves they may want to appreciate someone else's artistic work. However, they may be giving credit to the wrong person if the con artist has not been caught or noticed by the person viewing the art.

There are billions of works created every single day by millions of people all around the world creating unique and beautiful pieces of art that deserve credit that America gave in 1790.