Assumptions about copyrights

Motivation for copyrights:

• ``[T]o promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.'' [U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 8]

Copyrights are not...

• a reward for ``sweat of the brow'' [Feist v. Rural Telephone Services, 499 U.S. 340 (1991)]
• a ``natural right'': ``The enactment of copyright legislation by Congress under the terms of the Constitution is not based on any natural right that the author has in his writings... but on the grounds that the welfare of the public will be served and progress of science and useful arts will be promoted.'' [U.S. Copyright Act (1909)]