What's Changed in Copyright Law Since the “Copyright Act of 1976"?

Guest post by Brandi Seppala, Law Clerk

The landscape of U.S. copyright law has shifted over the past century. The current overarching federal statute governing U.S. copyright law is the Copyright Act of 1976. However, there has been additional legislation and developing case-law since then that impact specific areas of copyright law. 

These changes are important to know in order to understand your legal rights and potential risks under U.S. copyright law. 

The Copyright Act of 1976

The Copyright Act of 1976 governs current copyright law. It establishes that the term of copyright protection lasts the duration of the author’s life plus 70 years. It also lists what works qualify (and what works do not) for copyright protection. To learn more about the Copyright Act of 1976 and what it establishes, read more in our Copyright Basics blog post. 

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was enacted in 1998. The DMCA updated U.S. copyright law to address important new issues in the internet era. There are three main updates to copyright law under the DMCA:

1. Establish protections for online service providers in certain situations if their users engage in copyright infringement
2. Encourage copyright owners to give greater access to their works. 
3. Unlawful to provide false copyright management information.

The first objective included creating a “notice-and-takedown” system, through which copyright owners can inform internet service providers of infringing material and have it taken down. This also provides a safe harbor for internet service providers to avoid potential copyright suits against them. The second objective is accomplished by providing copyright owners greater protections against unauthorized use of their works. The third objective prevents unlawful conduct including giving false names of authors, copyright owners, and titles of copyrighted works. 

The Music Modernization Act of 2018

The Music Modernization Act (MMA) established important changes to copyright law pertaining to music copyright.  According to the U.S. Copyright Office, the Music Modernization Act updates copyright law “to make statutory licensing more fair for creators and more efficient for digital music providers.” 

The MMA is aimed to help better facilitate music licensing by digital streaming services, such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. The MMA is supposed to help ease the process of identifying music of copyright owners and ensuring that they get paid royalties for the streaming of their music. 

The MMA attempts to increase revenue for songwriters by establishing the The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) to administer this new system of “blanket licensing.” It is important for musical artists and songwriters to note that, even if you have already filed for federal copyright registration, you will still need to register with the MLC (whose website is now up and running) to receive certain royalties for your work.

The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE) of 2021

Congress passed the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE) in 2021. The CASE Act created a new court, the Copyright Claims Board, to more efficiently resolve small copyright claims in the United States. Because of how costly copyright litigation can be, many copyright owners are unable to enforce their rights against infringers. The time and money that litigation can consume is just not worth it for many copyright owners with smaller claims. The Copyright Claims Board seeks to resolve this issue by giving efficient judicial decisions over smaller copyright claims. 

Learn more about the Copyright Claims Board and how it could potentially help you here. 

The SMART Copyright Act of 2022

The “SMART” Copyright Act of 2022 (or the Strengthening Measures to Advance Rights Technologies Copyright Act of 2022) was introduced in the Senate on March 17, 2022. Spearheaded by Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), this bill proposes changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Among many other changes, this bill proposes stronger crackdowns on internet service providers who do not react to stop copyright infringement and crackdowns on “big tech” companies who have been complacent in stopping copyright theft. 

It is uncertain whether this bill will pass the Senate, but should it go into effect it will have important ramifications for internet service providers, big tech companies, copyright infringers, and copyright holders alike. 

The Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith Supreme Court Case

The Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith case is currently being decided by the Supreme Court. This case involves an artist’s unlicensed use of a photographer’s work. At issue is the “fair use” exception for copyright. Fair use shields copyright users from infringement. The U.S. Copyright Act defines fair use as, “a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances.” 

This case will set an important precedent for the fair use copyright exception that artists, creators, and internet users will need to be aware of. Read more about the specifics of Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith here.

How We Can Help 

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the current U.S. laws that are important to conducting copyright due diligence. With the ever-shifting copyright law landscape it is important to understand the new laws as they apply to creators and users of creative works. 

If you are a business owner or creator wanting to protect your creative work, or want to avoid copyright infringement, please contact the BCR Firm to learn how we can help.