I went onto Youtube to see if it included any videos that referenced the Copyright Act of 1710. What popped up in the search results, however, were videos with a disclaimer about the Copyright Act of 1976. I clicked on a random video to read the entire description: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE1inwUqedI

ALL RIGHTS GO TO PINK FOR HER SONG RAISE YOUR GLASS.
“Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.”

The law itself reads, “…[T]he fair use of a copyrighted work…for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (Copyright Law of the United States of America).

Although we have begun to discuss copyright in depth, I have never actually read the current copyright law in this country. After having read it, however, I better appreciate how it maintains everyone’s First Amendment Rights while protecting citizens’ intellectual property.