Copyright for Students: Copyright Resources

Guides to searching for information on the U.S. Copyright Law

Last updated April 2023.

Intellectual Property Resources

 Copyright Law Overview

17 U.S. Code Title 17—COPYRIGHTS (Cornell University)

Copyright Advisory Services (Columbian University Libraries)

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Copyright (American Library Association (ALA) )

Copyright & Intellectual Property (Association of Research Libraries)

Copyright First Responders, California

Copyright Society of the USA

Authors Alliance

Creative Commons

 Books on Copyright Law

 ·         101 Questions About Copyright Law / Andrew Alpern. Mineola (NY): Dover Publications, 1999. [R/346.7304/AL74o/1999]

·         Copyright Essentials for Librarians and Educators / Kenneth D. Crews. Chicago: American Library Association, 2000. [R/346.7304/C867c/2000]

·         Getting Permission:  How to License & Clear Copyrighted Materials Online & Off / Richard Stim. Berkeley: Nolo, 2001. [R/346.7304/St54g/2001]

·         Libraries and Copyright: A Guide to Copyright Law in the 1990’s / Laura N. Gasaway and Sarah K. Wiant. Washington, D.C.: Special Libraries Association, 1994. [R/346.0482/G21L/1994]

·         Multimedia Law and Business Handbook / J. Dianne Brinson and Mark F. Radcliffe. Menlo Park (CA): Ladera Press, 1996. [R/346.0482/B772m/1996]

·         Patent, Copyright & Trademark / Stephen Elias. Berkeley: Nolo Press, 1997. [R/346.0482/EL42p/1997]

·         Technology and Copyright Law: a Guidebook for the Library, Research, and Teaching Professions / Arlene Bielefield and Lawrence Cheeseman. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 1999. [R/346.7304/B476t/1999]

·         The Copyright Handbook:  How to Protect and Use Written Works / Stephen Fishman.  5^th ed. Berkeley: Nolo, 2000. [R/346.7304/F539c/2000]

·         The Copyright Primer for Librarians and Educators / Janis H. Bruwelheide. 2^nd ed. Chicago: American Library Association; Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 1995. [R/346.0482/B839c/1995]

Online Copyright Tutorials

NCSU Open Knowledge Center: https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/staff/department/okc

Crash Course in Copyright: https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/copyright

Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines:https://libguides.umgc.edu/copyright

Copyright  for Teaching and Learning: https://ctl.iupui.edu/Resources/Instructional-Technology/Copyright-and-Fair-Use

Additional Copyright Resources

 ·        Copyright Clearance Center: https://www.copyright.com/   

·         Copyright Services: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/copyright/support

·         Creative Commons: https://creativecommons.org/

          Justia BlawgSearch: Most Popular Copyright Blawgs: https://blawgsearch.justia.com/blogs/categories/copyright

         Stanford University Libraries Copyright and Fair Use:  https://fairuse.stanford.edu/

·         ALA Advocacy & Public Policy: Copyright: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/copyright

          Public Domain Slider:  https://librarycopyright.net/resources/digitalslider/index.html

·         TEACH Act Toolkit: https://liblegacy.lsu.edu/services/copyright/teach/index

·         WATCH: Writers, Authors and Their Copyright Holders: https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/watch/ 

·         Nolo:  Law for All: https://www.nolo.com/

·       Trademark Law

·         United States Patent and Trademark Office: https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks

Information about U.S. Trademark Law 

·         Trademark Law Overview, Legal Information Institute: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/trademark

·         BitLaw - A Resource on Technology Law: https://www.bitlaw.com/trademark/index.html

·         Overview of Trademark Law: https://cyber.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm

 International Trademark Law 

·         International Trademark Association: https://www.inta.org/

·         International Trademark Law Treaty (TLT): https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/tlt/

·        Patent Law 

·         U.S. Patent Law, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/consolidated_laws.pdf

·         U.S. Patent Rules, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/consolidated_rules.pdf

Information about U.S. Patent Law

·         U.S. Supreme Court Patent Decisions, Legal Information Institute: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/patent.htm

·         Overview of Patent Law, Legal Information Institute: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/patent

·         BitLaw - A Resource on Technology Law: https://www.bitlaw.com/patent/

·         Patent, Copyrights, And The Law Of Intellectual Property at MIT (OpenCourseWare): https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/15-628j-patents-copyrights-and-the-law-of-intellectual-property-spring-2013/

International Patent Law 

·         Patent Law Treaty: https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/plt/

Current Legislation & Case Law

US Constitution

• Constitution of the United States: https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution/constitution.htm
• Constitution Annotated: https://constitution.congress.gov/
• The Constitution of the United States of America original text of each clause with an accompanying explanation of its meaning and how that meaning changed over time: https://www.senate.gov/civics/resources/pdf/US_Constitution-Senate_Publication_103-21.pdf
• U.S. Constitution: https://constitution.findlaw.com/
• Article I Section 8 | Clause 8 - Patent and Copyright Clause of the Constitution: https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution/constitution.htm#a1

[The Congress shall have 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;"

• First Amendment: https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/senate-and-constitution/constitution.htm#amdt_1_(1791)

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

US Code

• U.S. Codes & Statutes
• U.S. Copyright Act from the US Copyright Office
• Amendments to Title 17 since 1976 from the US Copyright Office
• U.S. Copyright Act from Cornell, full text searchable.
• Amendments to US Law from Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) implementing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
• Recent Fair Use Legislation - Bill Texts, Summaries and Testimony
• National Information Infrastructure (NII) Legislation
• Current Legislative News and Updates
• Thomas Legislative Service Bills and Other Legislative Information (including the Congressional Record).
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
• Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act)
• Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA)
• US Copyright Office Current Legislation Section - Copyright-related legislation pending or recently passed in Congress. This is the best place on the Internet to get a list of the current bills before Congress. Includes information from the 105th (1997-98) to the 108th Congress (2003-2004).
• Benefit Authors without Limiting Advancement or Net Consumer Expectations Act ("BALANCE Act"): Re-introduced legislation from Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) that will allow consumers to make copies of purchased digital media for use in their car, computer or mobile device. The bill also affirms the application of the fair use privilege to digital works and transmissions.
• Bill Summary

US Regulations

• Copyright Regulations codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) from the US Copyright Office as of July 1, 2002
• Copyright Regulations from the US Government Printing Office as of July 1, 2002
• Code of Federal Regulations from the US Government Printing Office
• Federal Register - US Copyright Office announcements, rules, proposed rules, and other notices from the US Copyright Office Web Site
• The Federal Register 1994- present. The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.
• Federal Register rule from 9/29/95 relating to "Restoration of Certain Berne and WTO Works" 

Case Law 

• Princeton University Press v. Michigan Document Services, INC., No. 94-1778 6th Cir. 1996 decision vacated Princeton University Press v. Michigan Document Services, INC., No. 94-1778 6th Cir. 1996
  • Additional Documents, Course packs and Information

• American Geophysical Union v. Texaco, Inc., 60 F.3d 913 (2d Cir. 1995)
  • Summary of Texaco Decision (September 1992)
  • Original brief filed by Texaco, Inc (March 1993)
  • Amicus curiae brief filed by ARL et al (March 1993)
  • Amicus brief filed by American Library Association (March 1993)
  • Brief filed by the Association of American Publishers (April 1993)
  • Reply brief filed by Texaco (May 1993)
  • Statement of support for petition for rehearing (December 1994)
  • Library & Academic Communities Support Rehearing (ARL 178)
  • Settlement of Texaco Case - May 1995
  • Texaco, Publishers Agree to Settle Copyright Case (ARL 180)
• Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corp. (9th Cir. 2003)
• Basic Books, Inc. v. Kinko's Graphics Corp., 758 F.Supp. 1522 (S.D.N.Y. 1991)
• Campbell v. Acuff-Rose, 510 U.S. 569, 114 S.Ct. 1164 (1994)
• Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730, 109 S.Ct. 2166 (1989)
• Datastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., USSC No. 02-428, June 6, 2003.
• Eldred v. Ashcroft, 239 F.3d 372 (2003).
• Encyclopedia Britannica Educ. Corp. v. Crooks, 558 F. Supp. 1247 (W.D.N.Y. 1983)
• Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 499 U.S. 340, 111 S.Ct. 1282 (1991)
• Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc., 510 U.S. 517, 114 S.Ct. 1023 (1994)
• Gulf Oil Corp. v. Copp Paving Co., 419 U.S. 186, 95 S.Ct. 392 (1974)
• Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539, 105 S.Ct. 2218 (1985)
• International Bhd. of Elec. Workers v. NLRB, 814 F.2d 697 (D.C. Cir. 1987)
• Los Angeles News Service v. Tullo, 973 F.2d 791 (9th Cir. 1992)
• MacMillan Co. v. King, 223 F. 862 (D. Mass. 1914)
• Marcus v. Rowley, 695 F.2d 1171 (9th Cir. 1983)
• National Rifle Ass'n of America v. Handgun Control Fed'n, 15 F.3d 559 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 115 S.Ct. 71 (1994)
• New York Times Co., Inc. v. Tasini, 531 U.S. 483 (2001).
• Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417, 104 S.Ct. 774 (1984)
• Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207, 110 S.Ct. 1750 (1990)
• Twentieth Century Music Corp. v. Aiken, 422 U.S. 151, 95 S.Ct. 2040 (1975)
• West Virginia Univ. Hosps., Inc. v. Casey, 499 U.S. 83, 111 S.Ct. 1138 (1991)
• Williams & Wilkins Co. v. United States, 487 F.2d 1345, aff'd by an equally divided court, 420 U.S. 376, 95 S.Ct. 1344 (1975)
• Selected Historic Copyright Decisions at Cornell Law School
• Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc., vs. BLEEM LLC, Case number 99-17137 (9th Circuit 2000)