On March 3, 1831, the first general copyright law revision added musical compositions to protected works. The first term of protection increased to twenty-eight years with privilege of renewal for another fourteen years.

Thirty-four years later, on March 3, 1865, a new law extended copyright protection to photographs and photographic negatives. Noted photographer Mathew Brady took this photograph of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Reposted from the History of Copyright Timeline at the U.S. Copyright Office.

Library of Congress (http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3a09102/).