Law Commons^™

Literary Property And Copyright, Alina Ng

Journal Articles

Copyright laws emerged out of necessity when the earliest printing presses were introduced into the book trade. After the Statute of Anne codified an assortment of censorship, licensing, and trade-control rules to produce the world’s first copyright statute in 1710,1 it soon became clear in the United Kingdom and in the United States that all rights in creative works were provided by statute.2 Copyright laws have steadily expanded since the Statute of Anne to protect owners of creative works. In the past decade, attacks on these expansions by left-leaning critics have become visceral and intense. As copyright owners assert absolute …