Effective Jan. 1, 1978, this act was the first law passed concerning copyright protection in the U.S. since the early 1900s. Within that time, technological innovations such as television and radio were created, requiring an extensive overhaul in procedure that outlined the new property entitlements of these new communication forms. In music, the act gives protection to original works of authorship, which includes all components of a song, such as lyrics, instrument arrangement and recording. The act also gives the right to copy, sell, perform or lease the songs to others.
Another sudden rise in technology left songwriters and creators unprotected against digital audio recordings (such as MP3s), as well as a new form of communication now known as the internet. This new act sought to rectify those problems. Audio, for example, that is unlawfully presented on a website by someone other that the owner of the works has the right to demand that those works be taken down. Also, any peer to peer trading of digital media that belongs to someone else is deemed unlawful under this act.
This act sought to reimburse those who decided to use another person's copyrighted work without their direct permission, and instead uses a license agreement. According to the act, the user of another's work must follow imposed conditions and pay prescribed royalties. Satellite, cable, radio and webcasts are covered, as well as any other broadcast that happens to use the another's work. The Library of Congress created a panel of judges that specializes in copyright royalty. Their job is to ensure that royalty fees are reasonable, fees are distributed in due time and that all relationships between the user and owner are cooperative.