Fair-Use Issues

How to appropriately and lawfully use existing copyrighted materials in teaching, research, and other activities.

Indiana University. Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

First We're a "Virus," Now We Kill People with AIDS

Discusses claims that creative commons have 'spread like a virus' and 'U.S. copyright income' could be at risk.

Lessig, Lawrence. Lessig Blog (2005). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

Five Challenges for Regulating the Global Information Society  

Information technology (IT) is unquestionably having a profound effect on many aspects of the social, cultural, economic, and legal systems of planet Earth. IT has enabled significant advances in global communications technologies, particularly the Internet, that make it more possible than ever before to contemplate the development of a global information society. (Originally published in Regulating the Information Society, Chris Marsden, ed., Routledge Press 2000.)

Samuelson, Pamela. University of California Berkeley (2000). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

The Future of Copyright

At the 12th annual Computers, Freedom and Privacy meeting I was on a panel debating the future of intellectual property, in particular the issue of how copyright law is constraining technology. Other panelists included John Perry Barlow, Steve Metalitz of the IIPA, and fellow named Wrenn from Yahoo. As is so often the case, I was the only woman on the panel, and the only librarian. Oh, and I had five minutes to make my case. What you can't see here is that at the point when I said 'I am of course talking about librarians' the audience burst into applause. If you, reader, are a librarian, then that applause was for you. I wish you could have heard it!

Coyle, Karen. Karen Coyle (2002). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

The Great Giveaway

Good ideas are worth money. So why are hard-headed operators giving them away for free?

Lawton, Graham. New Scientist.com. Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Open Source

A History of Copyright in the United States

Since the Statute of Anne almost three hundred years ago, U.S. law has been revised to broaden the scope of copyright, to change the term of copyright protection, and to address new technologies.

Association of Research Libraries (2003). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>History

How International Copyright Law Works

If you photocopy an article in the U.S., you apply U.S. copyright law. If you photocopy an article in France, you apply French copyright law. That's the way international copyright law works: You apply the law of the country in which use of the work is made. This is called "national treatment" and is the underlying principle in the leading copyright convention, the Berne Copyright Convention.

Harris, Lesley Ellen. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>International

How to Write Copyright Pages  

A well-designed user guide contains a copyright page, which provides copyright information for your company's products as well as for any third-party products mentioned in your document.

Amott, Lyndsey. Docsymmetry (2004). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Technical Writing

Hyperlinks, Frames and Intellectual Property

This paper is concerned with how the use of hyperlinks and frames to present material from another website may infringe the rights of the originating site.

Hudson, Roger. Usability.com.au (1999). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Hypertext

Innovation Architecture

As the original end-to-end architecture of the Internet is increasingly compromised, and as copyright and patent law expand their reach, the commons of code, content and creativity that launched the World Wide Web is being quietly smothered. While Lessig focuses on technology and the law, his dark prophecies are relevant to the practice of information architecture.

Morville, Peter. Semantic Studios (2002). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

Inspiration vs. Theft: The Thin Gray Line

Inspiration does not come easy for most, and that includes some of the world's top designers and creative directors. Everyone has experienced what we call 'designer's cramp' (a designer's version of 'writer's block') at some time or another. There have been numerous articles about the problem and a ton of suggestions. Some of them work, but many fail miserably. Lance Arthur recently wrote an article in A List Apart called 'Creative Notions,' which is one of the best I've seen in a long time about the sketchy subject. Coincidentally, Lance is perhaps one of the most widely known designers on the web today, and therefore suffers from a great deal of plagiarism. When asked about this, he says, 'A dubious distinction, surely. I think having a somewhat higher profile than other personal sites contributes to my reign under this title.'1 Why is that? I believe because he is a creative person whose designs are original and inspirational. However, as long as web browsers come with the 'view source' button, plagiarism

Finck, Nick. Digital Web Magazine (1999). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Plagiarism

Intellectual Property and Economic Development: Opportunities for China in the Information Age

The information sector of the Chinese economy, although it has grown in recent years, remains a sector with a far greater potential for growth than has occurred to date. Intellectual property law can help fulfill China's further aspirations for growth of its economy. Markets for information products and services can only thrive when intellectual property rights are secure.

Samuelson, Pamela. University of California Berkeley (1999). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>China

Intellectual Property Arbitrage: How Foreign Rules Can Affect Domestic Protections  

Differences in national intellectual property rules may cause economic activity to shift from one jurisdiction to another such that a higher protection rule in one jurisdiction will be undermined by lower protection rules in other jurisdictions. This article illustrates this phenomenon with four examples: as to rules on the enforceability of anti-reverse engineering clauses of software licenses, the protectability of bio-engineered research tools, peer to peer file sharing, and exceptions to anti-circumvention rules. It considers several options nations may have to respond to intellectual property arbitrages, none of which is likely to be very effective.

Samuelson, Pamela. University of California Berkeley (2003). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>International

Intellectual Property Law Primer for Multimedia Developers

This primer will help you understand the legal issues in developing and distributing multimedia works. It is based on the Multimedia Law Handbook from Ladera Press, which has been endorsed by the Interactive Multimedia Association. This summary of the law should not be viewed as 'answering' most questions (the Multimedia Law Handbook discusses these issues in more detail in 340 pages and includes eighteen sample agreements to show how these issues are dealt within actual transactions; you can order the book by calling 800-523-3721). Legal matters in multimedia are frequently complex and you should not rely on the information in this primer alone. You should consult with experienced counsel before making any final decisions. Multimedia products require a knowledge of the four major forms of intellectual property as well as the laws governing rights of publicity, defamation and libel.

Brinson, J. Dianne and Mark F. Radcliffe. Timestream (1994). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Multimedia

Intellectual Property Rights for Digital Library and Hypertext Publishing Systems

Computers and the concomitant capability they have provided for making copyrighted works available in digital form in networked environments have created many new kinds of expressive opportunities. Computer technology together with communications technology has enabled authors to create digital libraries and hypertext publishing systems. Active development of such systems is now underway. While some difficult technical problems must be solved to build these systems, technical obstacles are thought to be surmountable. Less clear, however, is what kind of intellectual property scheme can be used to make digital library or hypertext publishing systems commercially viable.

Samuelson, Pamela and Robert J. Glushko. University of California Berkeley (1993). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

International Issues in Copyright: Frequently Asked Questions  

The area of copyright can be confusing and presents numerous questions. Juillet provides answers to some common copyright questions, such as who holds the copyright in a work-for-hire situation and whether a copyright needs to be registered to have protection.

Juillet, Christopher. Intercom (2007). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>International

IRTC Copyright and Intellectual Property

This page is a list of links to sites that contain information about copyright.

Soltys, Keith. IRTC (2001). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

Is Copyright Blind to the Visual?

This article argues that, with respect to the copyright protection of works of visual art, the general uneasiness that has always pervaded the relationship between copyright law and concepts of creativity produces three anomalous results. One of these is that copyright lacks much in the way of a central concept of 'visual art' and, to the extent that it embraces any concept of the 'visual', it is rooted in the rhetorical discourse of the Renaissance. This means that copyright is poorly equipped to deal with modern developments in the visual arts. Secondly, the pervasive effect of rhetorical discourse appears to have made it particularly difficult for copyright law to strike a meaningful balance between protecting creativity and permitting its use in further creative works. Thirdly, just when rhetorical discourse might have been useful in identifying the significance and materiality of the unique one-off work of visual art, copyright law chooses to ignore its implications.

Macmillan, Fiona. Visual Communication (2008). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Visual Rhetoric

Knowing Your Rights  

The increasing popularity of Web publishing isn't just changing the way that intellectual property (creative works such as text, images, and even software) is distributed, it's also changing the way such work is bought, sold, licensed, and - in some cases 'borrowed.'

Roberts, Paul. Adobe Magazine (1998). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

Legally Speaking: Did MGM Really Win the Grokster Case?  

MGM's media blitz has given the impression that the entertainment industry won an overwhelming and broad victory against peer to peer (p2p) file sharing and file sharing technologies when the Supreme Court announced its decision in the MGM v. Grokster case on June 27, 2005. MGM can, of course, point to the 9-0 vote that vacated the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision that Grokster could not be charged with contributory infringement because it qualified for a safe harbor established by the Supreme Court in 1984 in its Sony v. Universal decision (see my Legally Speaking column of June 2005). The safe harbor protects technology developers who know, or have reason to know, that their products are being widely used for infringing purposes, as long as the technologies have, or are capable of, substantial noninfringing uses (SNIUs). The Court in Grokster saw no need to revisit the Sony safe harbor. However, it directed the lower courts to consider whether Grokster actively induced users to infringe copyrights, a different legal theory.

Samuelson, Pamela. University of California Berkeley (2006). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>History

Marcos y Enlaces Profundos

Algunas de las prácticas tan normales y simples como las explicadas en este artículo, pueden llevar a infringir el Derecho de Autor.

Hassan Montero, Yusef. Nosolousabilidad.com (2002). (Spanish) Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

MGM v. Grokster: Implications for Educators and Writing Teachers

What are the implications of the MGM v. Grokster case for institutions of higher education in general, for research, for rhetoric and writing, and for writing teachers?

Porter, James E. and Martine Courant Rife. Michigan State University (2005). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

New Media Economy: Intellectual Property and Cultural Insurrection  

The new media landscape has created tensions between content producers (scholars, computer programmers, and even the general public) and copyright holders (institutional publishers and entertainment corporations) who are increasingly engaged in a form of culture war over access to and dissemination of information. This paper explores the emerging culture war as a struggle over definitions of culture and rights. On the one hand there are those who accept the traditional bargain between creators and society (sharing information, publicity, and reputation) and on the other hand are those who seek proprietary rights (ownership of material and all accompanying rights). Further, the battle over the definitions of intellectual property and copyright is taking place in a number of separate arenas including the music industry, academic publishing and the software industry. In each of these arenas the challenge of intellectual property in the digital age is manifested in similar yet distinct ways.

Downes, Daniel M. Journal of Electronic Publishing (2006). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

Nowhere to Hide  

To catch a thief, use the Web to track down plagiarism.

Fleishman, Glenn. Adobe Magazine (1999). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright>Plagiarism

On Author's Rights in Cyberspace: Are New International Rules Needed?

How will the availability of information over the Internet affect authors and their readers and publishers? Decisions over access to electronic information are being made on national and international levels with little regard for new technologies and their impact on new markets. New regulations may indeed only restrict access to information and impede the application of new technologies by authors and their audiences. Additionally, these legal solutions may only retard the development of more appropriate models for cyberspace.

Samuelson, Pamela. First Monday. Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright