The first copyright law in the United States was passed by congress in 1790.
美国国会于1790年颁布了第一部版权法。
In 1976, congress enacted the latest copyright law,
在1976年，国会颁布了最新的版权法，
taking into consideration the technological developments that had occurred since the passage of the copyright act of 1909.
将自1909年版权法颁布之后出现的各类技术发展成果也考虑在内。
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，任何人若想复制一部文学作品用于私人用途，必须手抄复制。
The very process imposed a limitation on the quantity of materials copied.
恰恰是这一过程使材料复制在数量上受到限制。
Today, a photocopier can do the work in seconds.
今天，一台复印机在几秒内就可以完成相同的工作。
The limitation has disappeared.
这种限制已然消失不见。
The 1909 Law did not provide full protection for films and sound recordings,
1909年的法案没有给电影和录音带提供全面的版权保护，
nor did it anticipate the need to protect radio and television.
也没有预见到保护录音机以及电视机版权的必要性。
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.
结果，各种违法以及滥用法律意图的行为损害了原作家、艺术家以及生产商的经济利益。
The 1976 copyright act has not prevented these abuses fully,
1976年的版权法案没有完全阻止这些滥用法律的行为，
but it has clarified the legal rights of the injured parties and given them an avenue for remedy.
但明确了受害方的合法权利并提出了补偿办法。
Since 1976 the act has been amended to include computer software,
1976年以后，经修改的法案新增了与电脑软件相关的条款，
and guidelines have been adopted for fair use of television broadcasts.
此外，关乎合理使用电视广播的准则也开始得以实施。
These changes have cleared up much of the confusion and conflict that followed in the wake of the 1976 legislation.
这些改变已经消除了1976年立法觉醒以来产生的许多疑惑和冲突。
The fine points of the law are decided by the courts and by acceptable common practice over time.
法律的细则由法庭确立，同时也要考虑过去可接受的习惯做法。
As these decisions and agreements are made, we modify our behavior accordingly.
一旦做出了这些决定，制定了这些规定，我们就必须相应地改进我们的行为。
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，我们应该尽可能精确地理解法律的内涵及其指导方针，并合理地遵守法律。