Copyright Law and the Progress of Science and the Useful Arts

Book excerpt: The American Constitution empowers Congress to enact copyright laws to 'promote the progress of science and the useful arts'. This book offers the first in-depth analysis of the connection between copyright law as a legal institution and the constitutional goal of promoting social and cultural advancement. Focusing on the relationship between this explicit purpose and the normative uses and production of creative works, Alina Ng argues that a robust copyright system that embodies moral and ethical principles is necessary to protect the different values and expectations of authors, publishers and users of creative works. The author demonstrates that a more nuanced understanding of property rights and statutory privileges as bearing different types of entitlements is critical to the sustainable development of society and culture at both national and international levels. She posits that as communication technologies become ubiquitous and facilitate greater connectivity between authors and their readers, the notion of authorship as a creative endeavor producing works with significant influence upon society and culture must form the central tenet of the copyright system. This unique approach to copyright law will be of interest to legal, cultural and literary scholars as well as others interested in the relationship between creativity, authorship and progress.