The law of copyright was first introduced around 1518 when King Henry VIII issued the first royal grant of printing privilege. This law gives the owner of the printed work the sole and exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, and perform the copyrighted work (mass media law). Copyright law has come a long way since 1518. Today, American copyright law protects nearly all conceivable intellectual creations. These creations include, but are not limited to: Â books, photographs, poetry, video tapes, compact discs, etc... But, just as necessity is the mother of invention, the more technology advances, the more copyright complications are generated. Of all the new technologies, nothing has challenged copyright law quite like the internet has.
As the internet is evolving, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep the owners original works from being illicitly duplicated and distributed. This is because the internet hosts a plethora of digital information, most of which can be easily and quickly copied. The copy, every bit as good as the original, can then be just as efficiently distributed over the internet to users who can repeat the process and so on (john laird).