Copyright Information

US and International Laws

US Copyright Office has a nice site with general information on US copyright law, legislation, announcements, and international treaties.

US Copyright Office circulars are very helpful brochures on a variety of topics regarding copyright laws, length of protection, and other subjects.

The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) was enacted in 1998 and is affecting research and education in important, and some would say detrimental, ways. For a summary of the law click on the link above. For the entire law (59 pages), click here.

Need to search the U.S. Code for anything? Go to Cornell's site here .

The World Intellectual Property Organization administers many of the treaties that govern the use of copyrighted works throughout the world. In particular, the Berne Convention concerns the protection of literary and artistic works. The WIPO also hosts a site that allows a user to search for laws of a particular country or on a specific topic. Try the Collection of Laws for Electronic Access (CLEA). Also, the folks at the University of Pennsylvania host a site that links copyright laws of many countries in a FAQ page. Scroll down from the top of the page to get to the links.

For documents and discussions of various aspects of European and international laws regarding Intellectual Property, in any of 11 languages, go the European Commision site.

The Consumer Project on Technology has gathered a huge amount of information on the Hague Convention, which proposes to set rules on jurisdiction for commercial and civil litigation. This has important implications in copyright enforcement, especially with regard to the Internet. The American Library Association, among others, is worried about what is happening.

Want to learn about Internet case law? The law firm Perkins Coie LLP has a very nice site dedicated to collating information on Internet law. While not limited to copyright issues, there is a section for the subject. Check it out at www.perkinscoie.com.