Jesse Feder's Website

Copyright Law Collection

 

US Copyright Laws — 1783-Present

Pre-Constitutional Copyright Enactments —  1783-1786

Resolution of the Continental Congress 1783

Copyright Laws of the Original States

Connecticut1/1/1783
Massachusetts3/17/1783
Maryland4/21/1783
New Jersey5/27/1783
New Hampshire11/7/1783
Rhode Island12/1/1783
Pennsylvania3/15/1784
South Carolina3/26/1784
Virginia10/1/1785
North Carolina11/19/1785
Georgia2/3/1786
New York4/29/1786

Acts of Congress — 1790-Present

Copyright Act of 1790 and Amendments

Copyright Act of 17905/31/1790
Amendment to extend copyright to the art of designing, engraving and etching historical and other prints4/29/1802
Act to extend jurisdiction of federal courts to copyright cases2/15/1819

Copyright Act of 1831 and Amendments

Copyright Act of 1831 (First general revision of the copyright law)2/3/1831
Act providing for the recordation of assignments of copyright6/30/1834
Provisions for the deposit of copies of copyrighted works8/10/1846
Provisions for the free transmission of copyright deposits through the mails3/3/1855
Act providing for performance rights in dramatic compositions8/18/1856
Act transferring all copyright deposits and records from the Department of State to the Department of the Interior2/5/1859
Act extending the right of appeal from decisions of circuit courts to the Supreme Court in copyright cases2/18/1861
Act providing for the protection of photographs and for the deposit of copyrighted works in the Library of Congress3/3/1865
Act relating to the deposit of copyrighted works in the Library of Congress2/18/1867

Copyright Act of 1870 and Amendments

Copyright Act of 1870 (Second general revision of the copyright law)7/8/1870
Provisions for free transmission through the mails of copyright matter to the Librarian of Congress6/8/1872
Act relating to federal court jurisdiction in copyright cases12/1/1873
Codification of the copyright law in Title 60 of the Revised Statutes of the US12/1/1873
Amendment relating to copyright notice, fees and registration6/18/1874
Provision prohibiting transmission through the mails of any publication which infringes copyright3/3/1879
Amendment regarding the position of copyright notice8/1/1882
International Copyright Act (Chace Act)3/3/1891
Provision for Supreme Court review of cases involving validity of a copyright2/9/1893
Act relating to certain delayed deposits of copyrighted works3/3/1893
Provision barring copyright protection for US government publications1/12/1895
Amendment relating to damages and penalties in cases of copyright infringement3/2/1895
Amendment relating to remedies for unauthorized public performance of dramatic and musical compositions1/6/1897
Provisions establishing the Copyright Office2/19/1897
Amendment relating to false notices of copyright and prohibited importations3/3/1897
Provisions relating to the Copyright Office and staff4/17/1900
Act to afford protection to exhibitors of foreign works at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition1/7/1904
Amendment relating to protection of books in foreign languages first published abroad3/3/1905

Copyright Act of 1909 and Amendments

Copyright Act of 1909 (Third general revision of the copyright law)3/4/1909
An amendatory act providing principally for copyright in motion pictures8/24/1912
An amendatory act relating to the certificate of registration3/2/1913
An amendatory act relating to the deposit of works by foreign authors published abroad3/28/1914
Amendment relating to ad interim copyright for works first published abroad in the English language during World War I12/18/1919
An act amending the manufacturing provisions in respect to books and periodicals7/3/1926
An amendatory act relating to the copyright fees and the price of the Catalog of Copyright Entries5/23/1928
An act to permit the printing of black and white illustrations of United States and foreign postage stamps for philatelic purposes1/27/1938
An act transferring jurisdiction over commercial prints and labels from the Patent Office to the Copyright Office7/31/1939
An amendatory act relating to renewal copyright with respect to contributions to periodicals or composite works3/15/1940
An amendatory act providing for the making and enforcement of rules and regulations by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postmaster General in regard to prohibited importations4/11/1940
An amendatory act authorizing the President to grant extensions of time for compliance with conditions and formalities prescribed in the copyright law9/25/1941
Codification and enactment into positive law of Title 17 of the United States Code, entitled "Copyrights"7/30/1947
An amendatory act relating to the copyright fees and the price of the Catalog of Copyright Entries4/27/1948
Provision for the repeal of sections 101(f), 102, 103, 110, and 111 of Title 17, United States Code, relating to judicial proceedings, contained in an act revising, codifying and enacting into law Title 28, United States Code6/25/1948
An amendatory act relating to the manufacture of books and periodicals, ad interim copyright, and the deposit of copies and catalog cards for foreign works in lieu of payment of copyright fee6/3/1949
An amendatory act correcting a number of technical discrepancies in the copyright law10/31/1951
An amendatory act to provide public performance and recording rights for non-dramatic literary works7/17/1952
An amendatory act defining the day for taking action when the last day for taking such action falls on Saturday, Sunday or a holiday4/13/1954
An amendatory act principally relating to the coming into force in the United States of the Universal Copyright Convention and the relaxation of the manufacturing clause regarding works of foreign origin8/31/1954
An amendatory act to permit deposit of photographs or other identifying reproductions in lieu of copies of published works in certain classes3/29/1956
An amendatory act providing for a statute of limitations with respect to civil actions9/7/1957
Section 8, Title 17 of an amendatory act to codify recent public laws relating to the postal service and to improve the Code9/7/1962
An act extending the duration of protection in certain renewed copyrights9/19/1962
An act to amend the War Claims Act of 1948, as amended, including a provision divesting certain copyrights vested in the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General10/22/1962
An act to amend the Trading with the Enemy Act, as amended, including a provision authorizing the transfer to the Library of Congress of the title to the prints of certain motion pictures10/23/1962
An act extending the duration of protection in certain renewed copyrights8/28/1965
An amendatory act relating to copyright fees and the price of the Catalog of Copyright Entries10/27/1965
An act extending the duration of protection in certain renewed copyrights11/16/1967
An act to provide for the compilations and publication of certain standard reference data, including a provision authorizing the Secretary of Commerce to secure copyright in any such standard reference data7/11/1968
An act extending the duration of protection in certain renewed copyrights7/23/1968
An act extending the duration of protection in certain renewed copyrights12/16/1969
An act extending the duration of protection in certain renewed copyrights12/17/1970
An amendatory act providing for creation of copyright in sound recordings and for additional remedies for infringement of musical compositions by unlawful use in sound recordings10/15/1971
An act extending the duration of protection in certain renewed copyrights11/24/1971
An act, in the form of a Private Law, providing for a term of 75 years from date of enactment, or from later date of first publication, for the various editions of "Science and Health" by Mary Baker Eddy12/15/1971
An act extending the duration of protection in certain renewed copyrights10/25/1972

Copyright Act of 1976 and Amendments

PL 94-553Copyright Act of 1976 (Fourth general revision of the copyright law)10/19/1976
PL 95-94Legislative Branch Appropriation Act8/5/1977
PL 95-598Amendment to §201(e)11/6/1978
PL 96-517Computer program amendments12/12/1980
PL 97-180Piracy and Counterfeiting Amendments Act of 19825/24/1982
PL 97-215Amendment to the manufacturing clause in §6017/13/1982
PL 97-366Amendment to §110 and §70810/25/1982
PL 98-450Record Rental Amendment of 198410/4/1984
PL 98-620 (title III)Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 198411/8/1984
PL 99-397Amendment to §111 and §8018/27/1986
PL 100-159Amendments to the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984 (extending protection to some foreign entities)11/9/1987
PL 100-568Berne Convention Implementation Act of 198810/31/1988
PL 100-617Extension of record rental amendment11/5/1988
PL 100-667 (title II)Satellite Home Viewer Act of 198811/16/1988
PL 100-702Judicial Improvements and Access to Justice Act11/19/1988
PL 101-319Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform and Miscellaneous Pay Act of 19897/3/1990
PL 101-318Copyright Fees and Technical Amendments Act of 19897/3/1990
PL 101-553Copyright Remedy Clarification Act11/15/1990
PL 101-650 (title VI)Visual Artists Rights Act of 199012/1/1990
PL 101-650 (title VII)Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act12/1/1990
PL 101-650 (title VIII)Computer Software Rental Amendments Act of 199012/1/1990
PL 102-64Semiconductor International Protection Extension Act of 19916/28/1991
PL 102-307Copyright Amendments Act of 19926/26/1992
PL 102-307Copyright Renewal Act of 19926/26/1992
PL 102-492Amendment to §107 regarding unpublished works10/24/1992
PL 102-561Amendment to 18 USC §2319 regarding criminal penalties for copyright infringement10/28/1992
PL 102-563Audio Home Recording Act of 199210/28/1992
PL 103-182North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act12/8/1993
PL 103-198Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform Act of 199312/17/1993
PL 103-369Satellite Home Viewer Act of 199410/18/1994
PL 103-465Uruguay Round Agreements Act12/8/1994
PL 104-39Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 199511/1/1995
PL 104-153Anticounterfeiting Consumer Protection Act of 19967/2/1996
PL 104-197Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 19979/16/1996
PL 105-80Copyright Amendments and Amendments to the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 198411/13/1997
PL 105-147No Electronic Theft (NET) Act12/16/1997
PL 105-298 (title I)Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act10/27/1998
PL 105-298 (title II)Fairness in Music Licensing Act of 199810/27/1998
PL 105-304Digital Millennium Copyright Act10/28/1998
PL 106-44Copyright Technical Amendments and Amendments to the Vessel Hull Design Protection Act8/5/1999
PL 106-113 (title I)Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 199911/29/1999
PL 106-160Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 199912/9/1999
PL 106-379Work Made for Hire and Copyright Corrections Act of 200010/27/2000
PL 107-273 (div C, title III-C)Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act of 200211/2/2002
PL 107-273 (div C, title III-B)Intellectual Property and High Technology Technical Amendments Act of 200211/2/2002
PL 107-321Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 200212/4/2002
PL 108-419Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 200411/30/2004
PL 108-446 (title III)Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 200412/3/2004
PL 108-447 (title IX, div J)Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 200412/8/2004
PL 108-482 (title I)Anti-counterfeiting Amendments Act of 200412/23/2004
PL 108-482 (title II)Fraudulent Online Identity Sanctions Act12/23/2004
PL 109-9 (title I)Artists’ Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 20054/27/2005
PL 109-9 (title II)Family Movie Act of 20054/27/2005
PL 109-9 (title IV)Preservation of Orphan Works Act4/27/2005
PL 109-303Copyright Royalty Judges Program Technical Corrections Act10/6/2006
PL 110-403Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO-IP) Act of 200810/13/2008
PL 110-435Webcaster Settlement Act of 200810/16/2008