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The first copyright law in the United States was passed by congress in 1790.
美國國會于1790年頒布了第一部版權法。
In 1976, congress enacted the latest copyright law,
在1976年，國會頒布了最新的版權法，
taking into consideration the technological developments that had occurred since the passage of the copyright act of 1909.
將自1909年版權法頒布之后出現的各類技術發展成果也考慮在內。
For example, in 1909 anyone who wanted to make a single copy of a literary work for personal use had to do so by hand.
例如，在1909年，任何人若想復制一部文學作品用于私人用途，必須手抄復制。
The very process imposed a limitation on the quantity of materials copied.
恰恰是這一過程使材料復制在數量上受到限制。
Today, a photocopier can do the work in seconds.
今天，一臺復印機在幾秒內就可以完成相同的工作。
The limitation has disappeared.
這種限制已然消失不見。
The 1909 Law did not provide full protection for films and sound recordings,
1909年的法案沒有給電影和錄音帶提供全面的版權保護，
nor did it anticipate the need to protect radio and television.
也沒有預見到保護錄音機以及電視機版權的必要性。
As a result, violations of the law and abuses of the intent of the law have lessened the financial rewards of authors, artists and producers.
結果，各種違法以及濫用法律意圖的行為損害了原作家、藝術家以及生產商的經濟利益。
The 1976 copyright act has not prevented these abuses fully,
1976年的版權法案沒有完全阻止這些濫用法律的行為，
but it has clarified the legal rights of the injured parties and given them an avenue for remedy.
但明確了受害方的合法權利并提出了補償辦法。
Since 1976 the act has been amended to include computer software,
1976年以后，經修改的法案新增了與電腦軟件相關的條款，
and guidelines have been adopted for fair use of television broadcasts.
此外，關乎合理使用電視廣播的準則也開始得以實施。
These changes have cleared up much of the confusion and conflict that followed in the wake of the 1976 legislation.
這些改變已經消除了1976年立法覺醒以來產生的許多疑惑和沖突。
The fine points of the law are decided by the courts and by acceptable common practice over time.
法律的細則由法庭確立，同時也要考慮過去可接受的習慣做法。
As these decisions and agreements are made, we modify our behavior accordingly.
一旦做出了這些決定，制定了這些規定，我們就必須相應地改進我們的行為。
For now, we need to interpret the law and its guidelines as accurately as we can and to act in a fair manner.
目前，我們應該盡可能精確地理解法律的內涵及其指導方針，并合理地遵守法律。
