The founders of the United States of America felt that copyright was important enough to enshrine in the Constitution:
The Congress shall have the power . . . To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.
"What is sometimes overlooked about copyright law is that it serves a dual purpose. One purpose is to incentivize creators ("Authors and Inventors") by allowing them to profit from their work; however, a second purpose of copyright is to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts" by allowing subsequent creators to make use of previous work. That is why copyright—monopoly status for a work—is bestowed for “limited Times” rather than permanently. For example, if the Disney Corporation was not allowed to profit from its creative work, there would be no incentive for its studios to create films; however, if copyrights were perpetual, Walt Disney very likely would not have been able to transform his small animation studio into an entertainment powerhouse by creating feature-length films based on prior works, such as Snow White and Cinderella, that had become part of the public domain