COPYRIGHT

President George Washington signed the first U.S. copyright law in 1790, which gave protection for 14 years to books written by U.S. citizens. Copyright developed out of the same system as royal patent grants, though the purpose of such grants was not to protect authors' or publishers' rights but to give the government revenue and control over the contents of publication. In a major revision of copyright law in 1976, the U.S. Congress specified that copyright subsists in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression. The general term of copyright protection is now the life of the author plus 70 years. For anonymous works, pseudonymous works, and works made for hire, the term of copyright protection is 95 years from first publication or 120 years from the date of creation of the work, whichever is shorter.