What Can Be Protected under Copyright Law

Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution provides that Congress has the power to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. This provision is the foundation of our copyright law. The term writings has been construed broadly over the past two hundred years to protect musical works, architectural works, sculptures, videogames, and developing technologies. The nearly insatiable demand of consumers for books, movies, music, and computer software has resulted in copyright industries (any stores or entities that sell or offer copyrighted materials) accounting for nearly 6.5 percent of America's gross ...

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