Copyright/Intellectual Property

The Official Sites:

Title 17 - Copyright Law -- US Code, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: This is the law.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act US Copyright Office Summary -- US Copyright Office: The DMCA is now a part of the law.
US Copyright Office -- US Copyright Office: This is the official US copyright and intellectual property agency.

Copyright Tutorials: Sites to see first if you are just learning about copyright:

Copyright Crash Course -- University of Texas Austin: Highly recommended for those wanting to learn about the intellectual property issues. Created by UT Austin.
Copyright Tutorial -- University of Texas Austin: Also created by UT Austin for their faculty who are teaching distance learning courses. It makes use of the Copyright crash course above plus some additional material. You have your choice of versions based on the speed of your connection. It is UT Austin specific in context.
Citing and Copyright Tutorial -- Kentucky Virtual Library: Created by the librarians of the Kentucky Virtual Library.
Brief Introduction to Copyright -- Brad Templeton: By the author of "10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained" (linked below). The author is on the board of directors of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained -- Brad Templeton: Explanations of common misconceptions about copyright.
Intellectual Property: A Brave New Virtual World -- Dave King, Katherine Adams, Sara Sidebottom: Powerpoint Presentation for Kentucky Conference on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, May 22-23, 2000.
Copyright Website -- Benedict O'Mahoney: A good site put together by a lawyer.

Kentucky Institutions' Intellectual Property Policies:

University of Louisville
Western Kentucky University
University of Kentucky: and its Report on Intellectual Property and Distance Learning

Distance Learning:

Report on Copyright and Digital Distance Education -- US Copyright Office, May 1999: A report of the Register of Copyrights. The DMCA asks the Copyright office to "consult with representatives of copyright owners, nonprofit educational institutions, and nonprofit libraries and archives and there after to submit to congress recommendations on how to promote distance education through digital technologies, including interactive digital networks, while maintaining an appropriate balance between the rights of copyright owners and the needs of users of copyrighted works.'" This report is the result of six months of study. It gives "an overview of the nature of distance education today, describes current licensing practices in digital distance education, including problems and future trends; describes the status of technologies available or in development...; and discusses prior initiatives to address the copyright issues through the negotiation of guidelines or enactment of legislation."
Distance Education -- Copyright Management Center, IUPUI: A list or resources and articles collected and created by the Copyright Management Center at IUPUI
UNCG Forum on Copyright and Distance Learning
Distance Education -- American Library Association: Information provided by ALA about copyright, distance education, and legislation.
The Power of the Internet for Learning: Moving from Promise to Practice -- Web Based Education Commission: This is the report from the Web Based Education Commission cahired by Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska.

Fair Use:

Title 17, Section 107 of the US Code - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use -- US Code, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: These are the four statutory factors of fair use and the questions you should ask yourself about a work to help determine whether or not it falls under fair use.
CETUS: Fair Use of Copyrighted Works, A Crucial Element in Educating America -- CETUS: From their own page: "This home page contains the electronic version of Fair Use of Copyrighted Works, a pamphlet published by CETUS. It was put together by the Working Group on Ownership, Legal Rights of Use and Fair Use of the CSU-SUNY-CUNY Joint Committee. It also contains links to fair-use guidelines and other resources that are intended to promote a fuller understanding and appreciation of copyright laws."
CONFU: The Conference On Fair Use -- CONFU: CONFU took place in 1998 to try to hammer out some of the issues on fair use in the digital environment. Read the final report and other papers associated with the conference here.
Fair Use: Overview and Meaning for Higher Education -- Kenneth Crews, IUPUI
A Fair-Use Case Study: Using Copyrighted Materials On The World Wide Web -- Dwayne K. Butler, IUPUI
Fair Use For Teaching and Research -- Copyright Management Center, IUPUI

Public Domain:

When Works Pass Into Public Domain -- Lolly Gasaway, University of North Carolina: This is an easy to use chart showing the timeline for works passing into the public domain

Organizations:

Association of Research Libraries: Copyright and Intellectual Property: A list of resources and information on the issues from ARL. If you only go to one site on this page this is the one to pick. You will become more familiar with the issues surrounding copyright in the electronic environment.
ALA, Office for Information Technology Policy, Intellectual Property and Technology.: This is the site put together by the American Library Association. Also be sure to look at Copyright, Libraries and the Public which gives a good introduction to copyright.
Digital Future Coalition: From their web site: "The Digital Future Coalition (DFC) is committed to striking an appropriate balance in law and public policy between protecting intellectual property and affording public access to it. The DFC is the result of a unique collaboration of many of the nation's leading nonprofit educational, scholarly, library, and consumer groups, together with major commercial trade associations representing leaders in the consumer electronics, telecommunications, computer, and network access industries."
Electronic Frontier Foundation: From their Web page: "EFF, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working in the public interest to protect fundamental civil liberties, including privacy and freedom of expression, in the arena of computers and the Internet."
Copyright Clearance Center: "CCC is a not-for-profit organization created at the suggestion of Congress to help organizations like yours comply with US copyright law."

Educational Institutions:

MIT: Copyright FAQ: Interesting reading but last updated in 1995.
Copyright Management Center: from IUPUI.

Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA)

The Ucita Index -- Association of Research Libraries: This is the most comprehensive site for UCITA - laws, testimonials, resources.
UCITA in Maryland -- University of Maryland: This is a site for statewide dialogs on implications of the UCITA implementation in Maryland.
AFFECT: AFFECT is an organization dedicated to lobbying against UCITA.
UCITA: A Guide to Understanding and Action: A Satellite Teleconference: This conference takes place December 13, 2000, 1:00-4:00 p.m.EST. There are links to required and additional readings, as well as information on panelists, audience, and schedule.

Last updated: 3/28/01

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