Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution, known as the Copyright Clause empowers the United States Congress: Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is... The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ...

"To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries."

This is the only power granted to Congress for which the means to accomplish its stated purpose are specifically provided. The exact limitations of this clause have been defined through a number of United States Supreme Court cases interpreting the text. For example, the Court has determined that because the purpose of the clause is to promote progress, it can not be used in a way that would inhibit such progress. Because of this, the Court has developed the fair use doctrine to permit certain unauthorized uses of copyrighted material. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... Although company logos such as these are often copyrighted and trademarked, the fair use doctrine permits their use in certain contexts without prior permission. ...

Furthermore, the clause only permits protection of the writings and discoveries of authors and inventors. Hence, writings may only be protected to the extent that they are original, and "inventions" must be truly inventive, and not merely obvious improvements on existing knowledge. Although perpetual copyrights and patents are prohibited because the language specifies "limited times", the Supreme Court has ruled in Eldred v. Ashcroft (2003) that repeated extensions to the term of copyright do not constitute perpetual copyright. Eldred v. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ...