Bifalgorithm post · Property · “Testimony at trial suggested that Betamax

Congressional Power

Congressional Power (Property · “Testimony at trial suggested that Betamax) — "V “The direction of Art. I is that Congress shall have the power to promote the…

Ideas in this flowchart

  • Applying the copyright statute as currently written, the appellate judgment must be reversed.
  • Article I gives Congress the power to promote the progress of science and the useful arts.
  • When the Constitution is permissive, the scope of congressional action is determined by what Congress has enacted.
  • Deepsouth Packing Co. v. Laitram Corp. illustrates this principle.
  • The current Copyright Act contains no clear prohibition covering this technology.
  • The Act does not make it unlawful to copy a television program for later viewing at home.
  • The Act does not impose a flat prohibition on selling machines that enable such copying.
  • Congress may later reconsider this technology, as it has reconsidered other innovations.
  • Courts cannot apply laws that Congress has not yet written.
  • The Court of Appeals judgment is reversed.
Feed/

Congressional Power

Channel

Property

1 page

"V “The direction of Art. I is that Congress shall have the power to promote the progress of science and the useful arts. When, as here, the Constitution is permissive, the sign of how far Congress has chosen to go can come only from Congress.” Deepsouth Packing Co. v. Laitram Corp., 406 U.S. 518, 530, 92 S.Ct. 1700, 1707, 32 L.Ed.2d 273 (1972). One may search the Copyright Act in vain for any sign that the elected representatives of the millions of people who watch television every day have made it unlawful to copy a program for later viewing at home, or have enacted a flat prohibition against the sale of machines that make such copying possible. It may well be that Congress will take a fresh look at this new technology, just as it so often has examined other innovations in the past. But it is not our job to apply laws that have not yet been written. Applying the copyright statute, as it now reads, to the facts as they have been developed in this case, the judgment of the Court of Appeals must be reversed. It is so ordered."

Flowchart preview
Series cover
👍
0
0 comments0 shares

Sign in to view and post comments.