Ready Reference: Copyright

Fair Use

Copyright is a complex issue with very few simple answers and with many questions still being answered by court cases. The links immediately below represent excellent and clearly written guides, produced by universities and the government, on various aspects of copyright. These do not constitute legal advice.

Copyright Basics: 12 page pdf manual from the U.S. Copyright Office

Fair Use: Course Packs (Stanford) | Electronic Reserves (UT) | Images (UT) | TEACH Act Toolkit (N. Carolina S.C.)

Key Web Sites: Copyright and Fair Use (Stanford U.) | Copyright Crash Course (UT) | U.S. Copyright Office

Permissions: Copyright Clearance Center | How to Secure Permission to Use Copyrighted Works (Purdue)

Quick Guides: Checklist for Fair Use (Purdue) | Checklist for Compliance with the TEACH Act (Purdue) | Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers (Chart) | Fair Use Guidelines for Educators (Chart) | When U.S. Works Pass into the Public Domain (Chart)

Copyright Basics

Copyright Basics (pdf): 12 page manual from the U.S. Copyright Office.
Copyright Law of the United States: Complete text of copyright law in Title 17 of the U.S. Code.
Copyright Primer: For those who want to walk through a slower description of the copyright laws, this interactive tutorial covers the issues.
The Digital Dilemma: Intellectual Property in the Information Age: Full length book covering all aspects in depth.
Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians (pdf): An in-depth booklet from the U.S. Copyright Office.

Copyright Ownership

How to Secure a Copyright (U.S. Copyright Office): A copyright is secured automatically upon creation of a work. For the best legal protection, a copyright should be registered. This U.S. Copyright Office segment provides definitions and information on how to place a notice of copyright and how to register a copyright.
Copyright Registration (U.S. Copyright Office): Gives information about registering different types of works (literary, visual, sound, performing arts) with links to appropriate forms.

Court Cases

Copyright and Intellectual Property(ARL)
Copyright Court Cases (ALA): Major cases listed by year with links to the briefs.
Categories of Key Court Case Summaries on Fair Use: Cases covering copying for education, copying for research, copying for websites and public dissemination, multimedia, and more.

Forms

Forms: "For obtaining permission to arrange music, copy out-of-print music, or to report a copyright violation."
Student Permission to Use Web Resource for an Assignment: Links to Internet resources and lesson plans for Social Studies teachers.

US Copyright Office - Forms: This site features a collection of lesson plans arranged by subject for grades K-12.

Key Web Sites

Copyright and Fair Use: An excellent online manual from Stanford University Libraries. Comprehensive, easy to navigate.
Copyright Clearance Center: "Here you can get permission to reproduce copyrighted content such as articles and book chapters in your journals, photocopies, coursepacks, library reserves, Web sites, e-mail and more.
Copyright Crash Course: The best starting place to learn about copyright. Easy to follow tutorial covering Fair Use, multimedia, licensing, online presentations, and more. From the University of Texas. Includes FAQs answered by a lawyer on course packs, distance learning, and use of images.
World Intellectual Property Organization: The WIPO is committed to the "maintenance and further development of the respect for intellectual property throughout the world." The web site covers patents, international marks, trademarks, copyright, and much more.

Work Made for Hire

"Who Owns Online Courses and Course Materials? Intellectual Property Policies for a New Learning Environment": Article based on a symposium discussion at RPI in 1999. By Carol A. Twigg.
Works Made for Hire Under the 1976 Copyright (2 page pdf): Text of the law.