Copyright law in the United States was established by the Copyright Act of 1790, which was passed by the United States Congress on May 31, 1790. The Copyright Act of 1790 was the first federal copyright law in the United States and it granted exclusive rights to authors and creators to publish and sell their works. The law was based on the Statute of Anne, which was the first modern copyright law and was passed in England in 1709.
Since the Copyright Act of 1790, copyright law in the United States has been amended and revised several times. The most significant revision was the Copyright Act of 1976, which went into effect on January 1, 1978. The Copyright Act of 1976 is the current copyright law in the United States and it provides a framework for the protection of a wide range of creative works, including literature, music, film, and software. The law also establishes the rights of creators and the conditions under which others can use their work.