copyright: an overview

The U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101 - 810, is Federal legislation enacted by Congress under its Constitutional grant of authority to protect the writings ofauthors. See U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8. (http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html#science%20and%20useful%20arts) Changing technology has led to an ever expanding understanding of the word "writings". The Copyright Act now reaches architectural design, software, the graphic arts, motion pictures, and sound recordings. See § 106 of the act. Given the scope of the Federal legislation and its provision precluding inconsistent state law, the field is almost exclusively a Federal one. See § 301 of the act.

A copyright gives the owner the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or license his work. See § 106 of the act. The owner also receives the exclusive right to produce or license derivatives of his or her work. See § 201(d) of the act. Limited exceptions to this exclusivity exist fortypes of "fair use", such as book reviews. See § 107 of the act. To be covered by copyright a work must be originaland in a concrete "medium of expression." See § 102 of the act. Under current law, works are covered whether or not a copyright notice is attached and whether or not the work is registered.

The federal agency charged with administering the act is the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. See § 701 of the act. Its regulations are found in Parts 201 - 204 of title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

In 1989 the U.S. joined the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (http://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/overview.html).

menu of sources

Federal Material

Federal Statutes

• U.S. Copyright Act (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/index.html)

Federal Agency Regulations

• Code of Federal Regulations: 37 C.F.R., Chapt. II (http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/37cfrII.htm) - Copyright Office

Federal Judicial Decisions

• U.S. Supreme Court:
  • Recent Decisions on Copyright (http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/search/index.html?query=copyright)
  • Selected Historic Copyright Decisions (http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/copyrt.htm)
• U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals: Recent Decisions on Copyright (http://www.law.cornell.edu/usca/search/index.html?query=copyright)

International Material

Conventions and Treaties

• Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (http://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/overview.html)
• Universal Copyright Convention (http://www.unesco.org/culture/laws/copyright/images/copyrightconvention.rtf)
• Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms (http://www.wipo.int/clea/docs/en/wo/wo023en.htm)
• International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations (http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001307/130729mb.pdf)
• GATT 1994 (including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property) (http://www2.law.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/foliocgi.exe/GATT?)

Other References

Key Internet Sources

• Federal Agencies:
  • U.S. Copyright Office (http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/)
    • Forms (http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/forms/)
  • US Patent and Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov/)
• Copyright Clearance Center (http://www.copyright.com/)
• Report of NII Working Group on Intellectual Property (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/doc/ipnii/)
• Coalition for Networked Information (http://www.cni.org/)
• Association of Research Libraries Copyright and Intellectual Policy Documents (http://www.arl.org/info/frn/copy/copytoc.html)
• European Union Directives on Copyright and Related Material from the EU Legal Advisory Board (http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/legal/en/ipr/ipr.html)
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (http://www.wipo.org/)
  • Database of Intellectual Property Laws (http://clea.wipo.int/)
• ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law (http://www.abanet.org/intelprop/home.html)
• Nolo Legal Encyclopedia (http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/ObjectID/939629B7-4726-4A7B-BB74971534ED9FB8/catID/DAE53B68-7BF5-455A-BC9F3D9C9C1F7513/310/276/ART/)
• The Copyright Website (http://www.benedict.com/)
• Copyright Crash Course (http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/cprtindx.htm)
• Copyright Management Center (http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/)
• Senate Judiciary Committee (http://www.senate.gov/~judiciary/)
• House Judiciary Committee (http://www.house.gov/judiciary/) (includes information from Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property)
• KuesterLaw (http://www.kuesterlaw.com/)
• American Intellectual Property Law Association (http://www.aipla.org/)

Useful Offnet (or Subscription - $) Sources

• Good Starting Point in Print: Paul Goldstein, Copyright: Principles, Law and Practice (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0195128850/102-3983806-0091349?v=glance), Aspen Publishing Co. (2000)
• LII Downloads (http://www.law.cornell.edu/disk.html)

other topics

Category: Intellectual Property