29th Annual BTLJ-BCLT Spring Symposium: Origins, Evolution, and Possible Futures of the 1976 Copyright Act
Welcoming Remarks | Opening Keynote | Panel 1: Origins of the 1976 Copyright Act
April 16, 2026
Event Information | Agenda | Resource(s) | Speaker Bio(s) & Contact Info
At the 29th Annual Berkeley Center for Law and Technology–Berkeley Technology Law Journal Symposium, Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter and Professors Peter Menell, Jessica Litman, and Jane Ginsburg examined the origins, structural compromises, and enduring limitations of the Copyright Act of 1976, concluding that while its core architecture has proven remarkably resilient against successive technological disruptions, the statute’s negotiated promises to authors have broken down in practice, leaving individual creators systematically disadvantaged a half-century after enactment.
Instructor(s)
Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director, U.S. Copyright Office
Jessica Litman, Professor, University of Michigan Law School
Jane Ginsburg, Professor, Columbia Law School
Peter Menell, Professor and Faculty Co-Director, Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, UC Berkeley School of Law
Pamela Samuelson, Professor and Faculty Co-Director, Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, UC Berkeley School of Law
Molly Van Houweling, Professor and Faculty Co-Director, Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, UC Berkeley School of Law.
Disclaimer: All views or opinions expressed by any presenter during the course of this CLE is that of the presenter alone and not an opinion of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the employers, or affiliates of the presenters unless specifically stated. Additionally, any materials, including the legal research, are the product of the individual contributor, not the Oklahoma Bar Association. The Oklahoma Bar Association makes no warranty, express or implied, relating to the accuracy or content of these materials.