A Survey of State Copyright Laws

State and federal legislatures have enacted numerous anti-piracy copyright statutes protecting sound recordings. This paper provides an overview of the four types of anti-piracy statutes, the recording industry interests needing protection, and the preemption arguments used by defendants. Part I of the paper introduces the murky waters of state and federal sound recording legislation. Part II discusses protectionism and the sound recording industry. Part III reviews the leading Supreme Court decisions on Copyright Clause preemption and Commerce Clause Preemption. Part IV argues that the four types of anti-piracy laws – anti-bootlegging, true name and address, optical disc identification, and unauthorized duplication – are constitutional under the appropriate Copyright Clause preemption and Commerce Clause preemption