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560
Cathach of St. Columba
Cathach of St. ColumbaThe earliest documented case-law of the right to copy, decreed by King Diarmait Mac Cerbhaill of ancient Ireland and given to Saint Columba for is work of a translated version, from Latin to Old Irish, of Psalms 30:10 to 105:13 from the Christian Bible. -
Jul 1, 1564
Index Librorum Prohibitorum, or List of Prohibited Books
Index Librorum Prohibitorum, or List of Prohibited BooksEnacted by Pope Alexander VI in an effort against the unlicensed printing of books. -
The Statute of Anne
The Statute of AnneThis British statute was the first enacted copyright statute. Full title: "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or purchasers of such Copies, during the Times therein mentioned" -
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Copyright Act of 1790
Copyright Act of 1790First U.S. copyright law granting the copyright holder two 14 year terms of copyright protection. -
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Copyright Act of 1831
Copyright Act of 1831Extended the copyright term to 28 years, with the option to renew the copyright for another 14 year term. Result of lobbying efforts by Noah Webster. -
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Copyright Act of 1909
Copyright Act of 1909Extended term to 28 years with 28-year renewal. -
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Public Domain Threshold
Public Domain TresholdAnything made prior to this date is in the public domain (free to the people) and anything made after it can be protected. -
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Mickey's Term of Copyright Protection
Mickey Mouse HistoryAfter aggressive lobbying the CTEA was passed giving an extension to the copyright of this character and also created no limit to the amount of extentions. -
Mickey Mouse
VideoMickey MouseThe first appearance of Mickey Mouse was in the short film Steamboat Willie created by Ub Iwerks. The film was a parody of the movie and popular song Steamboat Bill. Steamboat Willie was the third attempt after two failed test screenings of the Mickey Mouse character. -
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Copyright Act of 1976
Copyright Act of 1976Extended term to either 75 years or life of author plus 50 years -
Copyright Renewal Act of 1992
Copyright Renewal Act of 1992Reversed the renewal process of copyrighted work. -
Peer-to-Peer
Peer-to-PeerThe first peer-to-peer distributed system platform was Pipes Platform by PeerLogic. -
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Copyright Term Extension Act
Copyright Term Extension ActExtended terms to 95/120 years or life plus 70 years and serves as the standard for modern U.S. copyright law. -
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
Digital Millennium Copyright ActA U.S. copyright law, amending the Copyright Term Extension Act, that criminalizes copyright infringement over the Internet and heightens penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet. -
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Napster Shut Down
Napster Shut DownNapster shut down its entire network in order to comply with the injunction -
Capitol v. Thomas
Capitol v. ThomasThe first file-sharing copyright infringement lawsuit in the United States brought by major record labels to be tried before a jury. -
Last Individual File Sharing Lawsuit
Last Individual File Sharing LawsuitThe Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) claims to have ended its P2P litigation campaign against individuals in the U.S., which had been losing money, in favor of a three strikes campaign. -
Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act
Open ActThis is an amendment to Title III of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304 et seq.) -
The SOPA Black-Out
Black-OutOver 7,000 websites participate in a "black-out" in protest of the pending SOPA bill. -
