Which statement about copyright law is true?
A) Copyright covers a creative work for only seven years after it is produced.
B) Companies like Disney are huge supporters of getting their material into the public domain.
C) Corporate owners spend lots of money getting Congress to shorten the length of copyright protections.
D) The original idea behind American copyright law was that authors would have a financial incentive to create original works, and after fourteen years others would be able to safely use it to create derivative works.
E) Copyright laws have remained virtually unchanged since they were written in the eighteenth century, being adapted without debate to new media.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The original idea behind American copyright law was to incentivize creators to come up with original works and grant them exclusive rights to the work for a limited period of time. This limited period was initially set to 14 years, after which others could use the work to create derivative works. This aligns with option D, making it the correct answer.

A, B, C, and E are all incorrect. Copyright protections last much longer than seven years and companies like Disney are known for fiercely protecting their intellectual property. Additionally, corporate owners typically advocate for longer, not shorter, copyright protection periods. Finally, copyright laws have undergone significant changes and amendments since they were first written in the eighteenth century.

Which Statement About Copyright Law Is True