The Copyright Clause in the US Constitution gives Congress the power to secure legal rights for creators and inventors for a limited time. It encourages advancement in science and the arts, and covers original creations and inventions. Congress can change rules if it hinders progress.
The Copyright Clause is the common name of Clause 8 in Section 8 found in Article 1 of the United States Constitution. The copyright clause states that Congress has the power to “promote the advancement of science and useful arts, by securing for a limited time to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.” This clause gives those who discover or create something legal rights to their creation or discovery for a limited period of time. Copyright Clause is also known as Copyright and Patent Clause, Patent and Copyright Clause, Intellectual Property Clause, and Progress Clause.
When the Constitution was drafted in 1787, creators felt they should encourage people to continue advancing scientific and artistic discovery by giving them certain rights to their creations. This would both benefit the individual by giving them adequate credit and compensation for their discovery and help society by enabling artists and inventors to make new advances in their fields. The copyright clause was listed in Section 1 because this section pertains to the powers of the legislative branch and it was placed in Section 8 because it pertains to the powers of Congress. In the United States, Congress has the power to act on matters relating to copyright law.
Originally, the clause referred to the “Useful Arts” as those who were skilled in a craft and could create useful items and objects. Science covered not only the mainstream scientists of the time, but also philosophers and other professions dealing with intellectual thinking and knowledge. Today, the clause covers those who create items either in research or in an art form such as writing a song.
Copyrights and patents are given to those who create or invent an object and this tells the person under what terms he owns the object and for how long. A songwriter, for example, owns the copyright to his song and if someone uses the lyrics or melody of that song without permission, he’s breaking the law. The interpretation of the copyright clause has varied over the years. While Congress seeks to ensure that every person owns the copyright or patent to their ideas and inventions, they can also choose to change the rules if giving control to the creator would hinder further progress within the invention or area of research .
It is important to note that the copyright clause only applies to original creations or inventions. Modifying an invention might allow the scientist to apply for a patent for a new part he created, but he can’t patent the whole machine since he didn’t invent it himself. A writer working on a novel is covered by copyright law only as long as the story is an original work that she created herself.
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