1787 Sec 8 Clause 8 of the US Constitution gived inventrs and authors a temporary exclusive right to their work. 1787: US Constitution According to Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the US Constitution, “the Congress shall have power . . . 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.”

1790 An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Securing the Copies of Maps, Charts, and Books... 1790: Copyright Act of 1790 The First Congress implemented the copyright provision of the US Constitution in 1790. The Copyright Act of 1790, An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Securing the Copies of Maps, Charts, and Books to the Authors and Proprietors of Such Copies, was modeled on the Statute of Anne (1710). It granted American authors the right to print, re-print, or publish their work for a period of 14 years and to renew for another fourteen. The law was meant to provide an incentive to authors, artists, and scientists to create original works by providing creators with a monopoly. At the same time, the monopoly was limited in order to stimulate creativity and the advancement of “science and the useful arts” through wide public access to works in the “public domain.” Major revisions to the act were implemented in 1831, 1870, 1909, and 1976.