Owning the Past: A Digital Historian’s Guide to Copyright

Digital History provides a comprehensive guide for historians navigating the complex legal landscape of copyright and intellectual property in the web age. The authors trace the evolution of American copyright law from its constitutional origins to recent restrictive measures like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, emphasizing a shift away from the public interest toward corporate ownership. They advocate for a balanced approach that treats the internet as a "commons" rather than a marketplace, encouraging the bold use of fair use doctrines to share historical knowledge. The text offers practical advice on determining the public domain status of written works, images, and audio, while highlighting the unique challenges of digital multimedia. Ultimately, the sources urge scholars to prioritize the dissemination of ideas over rigid property protections to enrich collective understanding of the past.