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Category: historical

Background looks like a brown wooden table. On it, are two beige parchments showing early Copyright laws. On the right are two photographs with white frames around them. One is black and white and shows people working in a file room. The other is a color photograph of an aerial view of the Jefferson and Madison buildings on Capitol Hill

New Learning Engine Video Highlights the History of Copyright

Posted by: Nora Scheland

This blog post introduces the U.S. Copyright Office’s newest Learning Engine video, “History of Copyright,” which chronicles the history of copyright and the Copyright Office. The Office has released the video, and this blog post, timed with the 234th anniversary of the Congressional bill that eventually became the first federal copyright law.

Two pink registration application cards set against a blurred background of a bookshelf in an office suite. Text reads: Over One Million Card Catalog Records Digitized in Copyright Public Records System Pilot, A Copyright: Creativity at Work Blog Post

Over One Million Card Catalog Records Digitized in Copyright Public Records System Pilot

Posted by: Nora Scheland

This summer, the Copyright Office reached a new milestone in our modernization efforts: one million card catalog records have been digitized with searchable metadata and added to the Office’s Copyright Public Records System (CPRS) pilot. Learn more about CPRS, the Office’s digitization efforts, and historical registration application cards in this blog post.

First Novel by a Native American Writer to Win a Pulitzer Prize House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday

Celebrating the Firsts: First Novel by a Native American Writer to Win a Pulitzer Prize

Posted by: Nora Scheland

This Native American Heritage Month, we are celebrating the "firsts" in a blog series called, "Celebrating the Firsts: Shining a Light on Trailblazing Artwork by Native Artists." This blog features the first novel by a Native American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize. The novel is called House Made of Dawn and was written by N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa).

First painting by a Native American Artist Acquired by the National Gallery of Art: I See Red: Target by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith

Celebrating the Firsts: First Painting by a Native American Artist Acquired by the National Gallery of Art

Posted by: Nora Scheland

This Native American Heritage Month, we are celebrating the "firsts" in a blog series called, "Celebrating the Firsts: Shining a Light on Trailblazing Artwork by Native Artists." This blog features the first painting by a Native American artist acquired by the National Gallery of Art. The painting is called I See Red: Target and is by Juane Quick-to-See Smith (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation).

Get to Know the Territory: Musicals Based on Public Domain Works

Posted by: Nora Scheland

Do you hear the people sing, singing the songs inspired by the public domain? Broadways musicals have a long tradition of pulling inspiration from the plays, short stories, operas, and more in the public domain. Let's take a look at five musicals and what inspired them.