Copyright Law in Entertainment
Copyright Law in the US
Copyright Law in Entertainment is a subsection of the larger protections given by the US Government with Copyright. Copyright is the power that grants people the power to protect intellectual property by monopolizing the use of such material as they deem acceptable for a certain time frame. The US Government lays this out in the US Constitution under Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 (also known more commonly as The Copyright Clause). The US Constitution states that the US Government has the right 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. The Copyright Law in the US through the protection given in the constitution protects both companies and individuals intellectual property in the form of media such as films, videos, and music.
History
The first instance of laws protecting the intellectual property of their creators dates back to Ancient Greece. The Greek city of Sybaris around 500 BCE has evidence to show that it practiced an early form of patent laws. In modern times, copyright protection was introduced in the United Kingdom in the sixteenth century in the 1556 Charter of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers and later expanded in 1710 under the Statute of Anne. The Copyright protections of intellectual property were first established in the United States under the Constitution through The Copyright Clause. Later the United States copyright law was subject to revision in the Copyright Act of 1976 outlined in Title 17 of the United States Code.
Collaborative Writing Exercise: Copyright law in the entertainment industry can raise ethical issues related to the balance between protecting the rights of creators and the rights of consumers. For example, some argue that strict copyright laws can stifle creativity and limit the public's access to works, while others argue that more lenient laws can lead to piracy and devalue the work of creators. With strict copyright laws, consumers may have trouble accessing certain content due to higher prices. However, when copyright laws are more lenient, this can harm the creators. Copyrights are in place to protect a creator's intellectual property and make sure that they are properly compensated for their work, and to make sure that their work cannot be stolen or copied.
Sources: https://www.pbs.org/standards/media-law-101/copyright-fair-use/#:~:text=Copyright%20law%20protects%20original%20works,such%20works%20in%20limited%20circumstances. https://www.luc.edu/digitalethics/researchinitiatives/essays/archive/2016/copyrightinthedigitalagehowthetppextendsaflawedandharmfulpolicy/
