Copyright law - Research Guide
by Crata Castleberry, Branch Librarian, Little Rock
Introduction | Statutes | Cases | Regs, Rules, Forms | Agencies
Treatises | Law Reviews | Blogs & News | Related Resources
A copyright gives the owner the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or license his work. Copyright law grants - to the owners of an original work of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression - a set of exclusive rights giving the holder the right to reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform, and display the work. Original works include creations such as literature, music, art, photography, or film.
The United States Congress enacted legislation to protect the “writings” of authors. Changing technology has led to an ever expanding understanding of the word “writings.” The Copyright Act now covers architectural design, software, graphic arts, motion pictures, and sound recordings. Given the scope of federal legislation and the provision precluding inconsistent state law, the field of copyright law is almost exclusively a federal one.
To be covered by a copyright a work must be original and in a concrete “medium of expression.” Current law provides that works are covered whether or not a copyright notice is attached and whether or not the work is registered.
In 1989 the U.S. joined the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
United States Code; KF61 .A2; Located in St. Louis, Des Moines, Fargo, Kansas City, Lincoln, Little Rock, Minneapolis, Omaha, and St. Paul. Available online House of Reps, LII, Findlaw, GPO,.
United States Code Annotated (USCA); KF 62.5 .W45
Located in all 8th Circuit libraries.
Available on Westlaw at USCA
United States Code Service (USCS); KF62 .L38
Located in all 8th Circuit libraries.
Available on Lexis: GENFED;USCS
State Laws: Copyright law is primarily a federal issue. Most states have various laws on collecting the royalties for copyrights. The links below are to the codes for each state.
Arkansas (Lexis:ARK;ARTOC ) Nebraska: (Westlaw: NE-ST-ANN)
Iowa (Westlaw: IA-ST-ANN) North Dakota (Lexis: ND;NDTOC)
Minnesota (Westlaw: MN-ST-ANN) South Dakota (Westlaw: SD-ST-ANN)
Westlaw: FIP-CS; Lexis: Copyright Cases - Federal
United States Patents Quarterly. Annual Digest. Bureau of National Affairs. KF 2975.3 .U54 Located in St. Louis, Minneapolis, and St. Paul
United States Patents Quarterly. Bureau of National Affairs. KF 2975 .A2 U5 Located in St. Louis, Minneapolis, and St. Paul.
Copyright Law Reporter. KF 2991.5 .C65; Not held by 8th Circuit libraries.
37 CFR sections 201-270
Direct links: GPOAccess, GPO’s e-cfr, LII, Westlaw: CFR, Lexis: Federal Legal-CFR
Code of Federal Regulations; KR 70
Located in all 8th Circuit libraries.
U. S. Copyright Office - The Copyright Office provides assistance to Congress on intellectual property matters, advises Congress on anticipated changes in U.S. copyright law, etc. The office is located in the Library of Congress.
U. S. Patent and Trademark Office - The role of the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office is to promote the progress of science and the useful arts by securing for limited times to inventors the exclusive right to their respective discoveries (Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution).
Copyright Clearance Center - The Copyright Clearance Center is one of the primary providers of copyright licensing and compliance solutions for the information content industry. The Center serves as the intermediary between copyright holders and content users, facilitating the exchange of reuse rights and royalties through a wide range of licensing services.
ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law - This ABA Section contributes to the development of our system for the protection of intellectual property rights. It is the world's largest intellectual property organization
Franklin Pierce Law Center Intellectual Property Mall - The IP MALL is a resource providing information and links relating to patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, licensing, technology transfer, etc.
American Intellectual Property Law Association - The AIPLA is a national bar association which works to improve laws relating to intellectual property and their proper interpretation by the courts and to provide legal education to the public and to its members on intellectual property issues.
Kuester Law - Kuester Law is a comprehensive website for technology law information, especially including patent, copyright & trademark law.
Nimmer on Copyright: a treatise on the law of literary, musical and artistic property, and the protection of ideas, by Melville B. Nimmer. Matthew Bender. KF 2991.5 .N5
Located in St. Louis, St. Paul, Des Moines, Fargo, Kansas City, Lincoln, Little Rock, Omaha, and Minneapolis. Available on Lexis: 2NDARY;NIMMER
A ten-volume looseleaf set considered to be the most authoritative work on copyright law and issues, and is the one most cited by the courts. Well-written and documented, This treatise covers the substantive and procedural aspects of copyright law. It has the full-text of relevant laws, regulations, and legislative reports.
Copyright law: a practitioner’s guide, by Bruce Keller; KF 2994 .K45
Located in St. Louis library. Available on Westlaw: PLIREF-CPYT
and Lexis: COPYRT;COPYLW
A one-volume treatise covering the fundamental tenets of copyright law in both the real and virtual realms. It covers both the constitutional and statutory aspects of the law and firsthand analysis of several leading copyright cases. Also included are checklists, practice tips, and pointers for both plaintiff and defendant.
Copyright Law and Practice, by William F. Patry.
Bureau of National Affairs. KF 2994 .P35 1994 Located in: Omaha.
Understanding Copyright Law, by Marshall A. Leaffer.
Matthew Bender. KF 2994 .L43 1999 Located in: St. Paul
Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, v. 1 (1988) - current
(Westlaw: HVJLT; HeinOnline)
AIPLA Quarterly Journal, v. 14 (1986 - current) (Westlaw: AIPLAQJ)
the quarterly journal of the American Intellectual Property Law Association,
Journal of Intellectual Property Law, v. 1 (1993) - current); (Westlaw: JIPL) a quarterly journal of critical and analytical articles on current legal issues published by the University of Georgia School of Law.
Journal of the Copyright Society of the U. S. A., v. 30 - current (Westlaw: JCPS).The authoritative U.S. publication on copyright published several times a year.
Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property, v. 1 (1999) - current; (Westlaw: CHIKJIP); Provides commentary on issues that affect intellectual property law, including analysis of recent significant intellectual property cases.
Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property, v. 3 (2004) - current. (Lexis: NJTAIP).
A Copyfighter’s Musings - Blog from a Harvard University student on questions about the future of copyright with respect to the Internet and digital media
Copyright Readings - Blog maintained by Northwestern University Library; a Bibliography of current articles on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the TEACH act and other copyright issues.
Freedom to Tinker - Blog maintained by Ed Felton of Princeton University with a focus is on issues related to legal regulation of technology
Copyfight - Blog maintained by a group of individuals that focuses on the evolution of copyright and intellectual property conflicts, among other topics.
NewsNet - from the U.S. Copyright Office
IP Newswire - online intellectual property news edited/compiled by IP attorneys.
Cornell’s Legal Information Institute - Copyright page
Stanford’s Copyright and Fair Use Center
Kasunic's Copyright Law & Litigation Resource - from the principal legal advisor at the U.S. Copyright Office
Nolo Publishing’s Copyright Page and Glossary