New Light on Sears and Compco—State Copyright Laws Are Not Totally Preempted By the Copyright Act

In Goldstein, the Court held that state copyright laws may be more inclusive than federal copyright law, meaning federal copyright law does not preempt every state copyright law. The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution does not require preemption where states pass stricter copyright laws for things Congress has not provided protection for under the Copyright Act. The author suggests that the primary importance of Goldstein is its clarification of two previous Supreme Court holdings: Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Stiffel and Compco Corp. v. Day-Brite Lighting, Inc.; each case stood for federal preemption of state laws which purport to protect “discoveries” and “writings” for which specific provisions have been made in the Patent and Copyright acts, respectively. It is only in areas where Congress has acted with certainty that may be characterized as “preempted.”