Intellectual Property
About This Guide
This Research Guide is intended to provide those researching issues in Intellectual Property Law with a starting point for their studies. Intellectual Property is a broad area in the law, comprising the three distinct but interconnected doctrinal areas of Copyright, Patent, and Trademarks. In addition, this Guide includes resources pertaining to a fourth type of intellectual property: trade secrets.
This Research Guide is organized into five sections, with one section providing resources on the overarching area of intellectual property, and the remaining sections each corresponding to one of the foregoing specific doctrinal areas. Each tab in the navigation bar above will take the researcher to a variety of materials - both print and online - that should assist them in their study of and research into Intellectual Property Law and its component parts.
Copyright Law
Copyright Law is one of the three primary doctrinal areas within Intellectual Property.
As defined in Black's Law Dictionary (11th Ed. 2019), the term COPYRIGHT means/refers to:
"1. The right to copy; specifically, a property right in an original work of authorship (including literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and architectural works; motion pictures and other audiovisual works; and sound recordings) fixed in any tangible medium of expression, giving the holder the exclusive right to reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform, and display the work. 2. The body of law relating to such works."
Under U.S. Law, the power to enact legislation protecting such works is vested in the United States Congress by Article 1 § 8, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution - the so-called "Copyright and Patent" or "Intellectual Property" Clause:
The Congress Shall Have the Power... "[t]o 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"
Primary Law - Statutes
From the US Copyright Website: The Copyright Act of 1976 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.
From the Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell University: 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.
Getting Started
The following study aids are intended to provide a high-level introduction to Copyright Law.
NOTE: The links below will take the user to the Law Library's online study aids collection. The inclusion of a Call Number indicates that the Law Library also has the particular title in print, although the print resource may be an earlier edition of the title.
Examples and Explanations for Copyright by
A favorite classroom prep tool of successful students that is often recommended by professors, the Examples & Explanations (E&E) series provides an alternative perspective to help you understand your casebook and in-class lectures. Each E&E offers hypothetical questions complemented by detailed explanations that allow you to test your knowledge of the topics in your courses and compare your own analysis. Here's why you need an E&E to help you study throughout the semester: Clear explanations of each class topic, in a conversational, funny style. Features hypotheticals similar to those presented in class, with corresponding analysis so you can use them during the semester to test your understanding, and again at exam time to help you review. It offers coverage that works with ALL the major casebooks, and suits any class on a given topic. The Examples & Explanations series has been ranked the most popular study aid among law students because it is equally as helpful from the first day of class through the final exam.
Call Number: KF2995 .M35 2021ISBN: 9781543825763Publication Date: 2021-03-17
Understanding Copyright Law by
The seventh edition of Understanding Copyright is a major revision of this classic student treatise. In addition to including the latest case law developments, this edition incorporates the Music Modernization Act of 2018. The seventh edition covers all aspects of the MMA, a dazzling legislative overhaul of the musical copyright, which, among its other provisions, creates a new blanket license for digital deliveries and provides protection to pre-1972 sound recordings.
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Call Number: KF2994 .L43 2019ISBN: 9781531010072Publication Date: 2019-08-01Questions and Answers: Copyright Law by Copyright law determines what it means to own works of authorship, and it does so by means of a complex federal statute. Questions & Answers: Copyright Law helps students navigate this challenging subject matter with multiple choice, short answer, and final exam essay questions that test both the concepts and substantive law of copyright. The second edition includes over fifty new multiple choice questions, as well as three new practice examinations. These additions reflect the latest developments in this ever-changing field, including the implications of U.S. Supreme Court decisions such as Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Golan v. Holder, and American Broadcasting Cos., Inc. v. Aereo, Inc. The questions and practice exams span the varied landscape of copyright, including: Requirements for copyright protection; Copyrightable subject matter; Ownership of copyright; Protection of exclusive rights; Copyright formalities; Length of copyright protection; Infringement; Fair use and other affirmative defenses; Remedies; and Enhanced protection for digital materials.
Call Number: KF2995 .F34 2018ISBN: 9781632815491Publication Date: 2018-08-01
A Short and Happy Guide to Copyright by
The Short and Happy Guide to Copyright is a succinct, enjoyable, and time-friendly text that is designed for you: To get up to speed on the biggest issues of copyright law, and the black letter law addressing those issues; To educate yourself as to your future clients' rights, potential liabilities, and options and opportunities regarding legal problems in copyright. Whether you plan to specialize in copyright or intellectual property, or simply want to be available to your firm or law office as an attorney who can take on a novel problem in an exciting and potentially high-profile and high-dollar-value area of your firm's or office's practice, this book will be useful to you; To provide a vocabulary of legal terms to use when consulting with lawyers, clients, accountants, financial planners, and insurers regarding copyright problems in the creative, entertainment, and scientific fields; To identify existing or potential legal problems in your clients' and your organization's practices. This guide will discuss a variety of areas in which exposure to legal liability or sanctions may present itself as a current or future problem based on your clients' practices and procedures. Don't let the small size fool you! This guide is full of useful information about copyright, but it also is designed to be fun.
Call Number: online onlyISBN: 9781636593401Publication Date: 2022-05-02
Lafrance's Copyright Law in a Nutshell by
This product offers a compact yet comprehensive and up-to-date overview of U.S. copyright law in an uncluttered and readable format. Coverage ranges from the fundamental concepts of originality, authorship, and infringement to the highly technical rules governing digital phonorecord deliveries and digital public performance rights in sound recordings, the safe harbor provisions that limit the liability of Internet service providers, and the anti-circumvention and copyright management information provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This updated edition includes detailed analysis of the changes introduced by the Music Modernization Act of 2018, as well as the creation of the Copyright Claims Board. The evolving doctrines of fair use and contributory liability are also given thorough attention.
Call Number: online onlyISBN: 9781647082499Publication Date: 2021-10-27
The titles below are selected hornbooks that provide an overview of Copyright Law. Hornbooks generally provide more in-depth coverage of their topic than do study aids, but somewhat less coverage than treatises in that area.
NOTE: The links below will take the user to the Law Library's online collection. The inclusion of a Call Number indicates that the Law Library also has the particular title in print, although the print resource may be an earlier edition of the title.
Copyright Law by
This title provides a clear and thorough exploration of the doctrinal and policy issues in American copyright law. In a style accessible to both students and practitioners, it covers every major topic in basic copyright courses: history, formalities, exclusive rights, fair use, civil and criminal enforcement, and federal preemption of state law. The authors also address major new issues that have emerged, including the rules of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act regarding circumvention of technological protections of copyrighted materials, and the principles of secondary liability, both in their basic form and as developed through application of the DMCA to Internet service providers. In addition, attention is given to the important points at which U.S. copyright law intersects with international intellectual property treaties.
Call Number: online onlyISBN: 9781599412511Publication Date: 2012-04-27
Principles of Copyright Law by
This product guides the reader through both the traditional topics, such as fair use, and more modern topics, such as the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, without getting bogged down in unnecessary or tedious detail. This title is ideal for end-of-semester review by students in both basic and advanced courses on copyright law, and also will be of use to practitioners and other legal professionals seeking a comprehensive yet manageable introduction to the subject.
Call Number: KF2994 .S34 2010ISBN: 9780314147509Publication Date: 2010-08-17
Nimmer on Copyright: A Treatise on the Law of Literary, Musical and Artistic Property by
Cited in more court opinions than any other treatise on the subject of U.S. copyright law, Nimmer on Copyright provides comprehensive insights into copyright protection in the digital age as well as exhaustive discussions of traditional issues. This definitive work on copyright law is a rich resource for the expert, as well as the practitioner just beginning to explore the arena. Nimmer on Copyright has appeal both to the domestic and international audience. Accompanying the emergence of global communications, U.S. copyright issues are being faced by foreign parties and lawyers, as protected works are easily being transmitted from foreign locales into this country. Nimmer on Copyright is an easy-to-follow treatise containing: * In-depth, comprehensive insights into copyright protection in the digital age as well as exhaustive discussions of traditional copyright issues * Extensive analysis covering specific media such as printed works; plays and motion pictures; music; artistic property; and digital technological developments such as copyright protection systems and the Internet * Interpretation of all provisions of the Copyright Act, and thorough coverage of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act * Outstanding litigation forms provided by top intellectual property litigators * State-of-the-art transactional forms with side-by-side commentary written by leading copyright law practitioners * Text of all relevant statutes, regulations, treaties and legislative histories.
Call Number: Online (Lexis+) onlyISBN: 9780820514659Publication Date: Continuously Updated Resource
Patry on Copyright by
The author provides an encyclopedic analysis of copyright, placing court opinions and statutes in their real-world context. In addition to enumerating a complete legislative and statutory history for relevant provisions on pertinent litigation issues, a circuit-by-circuit breakdown is provided. The extensive discussion of remedial, jurisdictional, choice of law, and international issues is unparalleled in other legal work.
Call Number: Online (Westlaw Precision) onlyISBN: 9780314976260Publication Date: Continuously Updated Resource
Additional Online Resources
The U.S. Copyright Office "[p]romotes creativity and free expression by administering the nation's copyright laws and by providing impartial, expert advice on copyright law and policy for the benefit of all."
The U.S. Copyright Office's website provides online access to a variety of materials about U.S. copyrights and U.S. copyright law, including
- informational circulars on specific topics
- law and policy resources such as full text statutes and regulations, review board opinions, a fair use index, and legislative developments
- procedural guidance, including copyright registration information and links to further online assistance.
The links below will take you to the websites of two additional important government agencies/ organizations involved in copyright policy.
The links below will take you to sites more generally involved in Copyright Policy, Advocacy, and licensing issues.
The links below will take you to the websites for a number of important industry stakeholders in copyright law and policy. There you can study their respective policies vis-a-vis U.S. Copyright Law and examine their respective positions on a number of important issues in Copyright Law as applicable to their particular industry.
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE)
The American Library Association (ALA)
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP)
American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)
Association of American Publishers
Cell phone industry's trade association (CITA)
Computer Communications and Industry Association (CCIA)
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
National Music Publishers Association
Professional Photographers of America (PPA)
Selected Additional Reading
The Unrealized Promise of the Next Great Copyright Act by The Unrealized Promise of the Next Great Copyright Actprovides a unique perspective on one of the most active periods of copyright policy discourse in the United States since the enactment of the Copyright Act of 1976. Using the then-Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante's landmark speech of 2013 The Next Great Copyright Actas a catalyst, Christopher S. Reed documents and assesses the major issues confronting the U.S. copyright system today. The book offers an inside view of the Copyright Office's attempts at reform as part of a comprehensive account of the complex dynamics between key stakeholder communities, government and legislation. Chapters also explore relevant areas of copyright such as orphan works and mass digitization, online copyright enforcement, visual arts and music licensing, and demonstrate that despite previous difficulties the time is now ripe for an update to U.S. copyright law. This insightful book will be of great value to scholars and legal practitioners with a focus on copyright law and policy, and will also prove a useful resource for instructors teaching copyright policy at an advanced level. Others with an interest in intellectual property, technology and connected culture, or politics and government will also find this book an engaging read.
ISBN: 9781800377332Publication Date: 2020-10-16
Technology and Copyright Law by
Learn how to educate defensively and avoid accidents In this updated version of Technology and Copyright Law, the authors expand on new developments in the world of copyright, including those in the areas of legislation and case law. Special chapters provide information on the law's enablement for those who work with the blind and physically handicapped, and the use of copyrighted materials in distance education. Divided into four parts, this valuable resource covers topics that include: existing law - what was it's intention, how it developed, where it's going; guidance for making copyright decisions in day-to-day situations; electronic classroom and international copyright agreements; glossary of important terms and phrases and mandated words; lists of exclusive rights of copyright holders, as well as limitations on those rights; and, the TEACH Act and its implications for libraries and classrooms.
ISBN: 9781555705701Publication Date: 2006-04-01
