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Copyright Act of 1976
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<p>The Copyright Act of 1976 is a <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a> <a href="/facts/Copyright/7GHEWEx9">copyright</a> law and remains the primary basis of copyright law in the United States, as amended by several later enacted copyright provisions. The Act spells out the basic rights of copyright holders, codified the doctrine of "<a href="/facts/Fair_use/mlSlfPcB">fair use</a>", and for most new copyrights adopted a unitary term based on the date of the author's death rather than the prior scheme of fixed initial and renewal terms. It became Public Law number 94-553 on October 19, 1976; most parts of the law went into effect on January 1, 1978. </p><p>US <a href="/facts/Register_of_Copyrights/4AV980mJ">Register of Copyrights</a> <a href="/facts/Barbara_Ringer/DXKkD7r8">Barbara Ringer</a> took an active role in drafting the statute. </p>