The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.

The Copyright Act of 1790 was the first federal copyright law enacted in the United States, signed into law by President George Washington on May 31, 1790. Modeled closely on Britain’s Statute of Anne (1710), the act granted authors of “maps, charts, and books” the exclusive right to print, publish, and sell their works for a period of 14 years, with the option to renew for another 14 years if the author was still alive. This early legislation reflected the new nation’s effort to balance public access to knowledge with the need to incentivize creative labor. However, its scope was pretty limited—it didn’t cover musical compositions, artworks, or foreign authors. Enforcement was also weak, and registration was required at district courts. Still, the 1790 Act laid the groundwork for future copyright protections and marked the start of America’s evolving relationship with intellectual property.