Conference on the 100th Anniversary of the 1909 Copyright Act – Santa Clara, CA
The High Tech Law Institute of Santa Clara University School of Law and the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology of UC Berkeley School of Law present a Conference on the 100th Anniversary of the 1909 Copyright Act on April 30, 2009.
The 1909 Copyright Act marked a revolution in U.S. copyright law. The 1909 Act was the first to protect works upon publication with notice, without prior registration; the first to expressly recognize a right to prepare derivative works; and the first to expressly recognize the public domain. The 1909 Act remained in effect for seven decades, during which time copyright law was repeatedly called upon to deal with the disruptive effect of new technologies, such as motion pictures, sound recordings, radio and television, photocopy machines, and computers. As a result, the 1909 Act had a significant influence on the copyright law we have today.
Join two dozen distinguished scholars and practitioners to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the 1909 Act and its profound effect on U.S. and international copyright law. Attendance is free and open to the public.
