This guide suggests resources and strategies for research on United States copyright law, with emphasis on its application to academic pursuits.

Background Information  |  Facts & Figures  |  Find Articles  |  Find Books  |   Primary Sources  |  Organizations  |  Web Resources 

Encyclopedias and other reference works are an excellent place to start a research project or simply learn more about a particular topic.  They provide topic summaries, context, and bibliographies for further reading.

Cybercrime:  A Reference Handbook	2004	R 364.168 Sch262c
Patent, Copyright and Trademark	1999	R 346.048 El42p3

 

 Copyright Basics. Circular 1. U S Copyright Office.
    http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf

Fair Use.  FL 102.  U S Copyright Office Factsheet.
    http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

How to Open and Maintain a Deposit  Account in the Copyright Office.  Circular 5.  U S
    Copyright Office.
    http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ05.pdf

How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work.  Circular 22.  U S Copyright Office.
    http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ22.pdf

Make Sure Your Application Will Be Acceptable.  Circular 1c.  U S Copyright Office.
    http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1c.pdf

Reproductions of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians.  Circular 21.  U S
    Copyright Office.
    http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf

 

Search indexes, abstracts, and databases to find journal, magazine, and newspaper articles.  For a complete list of Kent Library's online indexes and databases, see the Find: articles page (http://library.semo.edu/find/articles.html).

To find historical/source materials, use the following print sources, which are housed in the Indexes/Abstracts area:

International Index
Social Sciences and Humanities Index
Social Sciences Index
Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature
 

To find recent articles and scholarly/peer-reviewed articles use the following online databases:

LexisNexis Academic Universe
JStor
Project Muse
Wilson OmniFile

 

Use the Kent Library Catalog (http://library.semo.edu/find/books.html) to find books, periodicals (journals, magazines, & newspapers), videos, government documents and other materials.

Keyword searches allow you to use your own words as search terms.
Subject heading searches use Library of Congress subject headings. Printed volumes of these headings are located near the Reference Desk on the main floor.

Copyright
Copyright, International
Copyright infringement
Copyright and Distance Education
Internet -- Law and legislation
Multimedia systems -- Law and legislation
Computer software -- Law and legislation
Video recordings -- Fair use (Copyright)
 

Browse the shelves by call number.  Use the Dewey Decimal chart (http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/fi_books_dd_list.htm) to get you in the right subject areas or try the following:

Copyright	346.0482
international law	341.7582
law	346.0482
library operations	025.12
public administration	352.749
Intellectual property	346.048
international law	341.758
public administrative support	352.749

 

17 USC     R 348.323 Un3
Title 17 of the United States Code is entirely devoted to Copyright, and is the embodiment of Federal statutory law on the subject.  The Title is broken down into thirteen chapters as follows:
 

Chapter	Heading	Section
1	Subject Matter and Scope of Copyright	101
2	Copyright Ownership and Transfer	201
3	Duration of Copyright	301
4	Copyright Notice, Deposit, and Registration	401
5	Copyright Infringement and Remedies	501
6	Manufacturing Requirements and Importation	601
7	Copyright Office	701
8	Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panels	801
9	Protection of Semiconductor Chip Products	901
10	Digital Audio Recording Devices and Media	1001
11	Sound Recordings and Music Videos	1101
12	Copyright Protection and Management Systems	1201
13	Protection of Original Designs	1301

 

37 CFR     AE 2.106/3
Title  37 of the Code of Federal Regulations is the embodiment of Federal rules and regulations implementing the statutory requirements set forth in Title 17 of the United States Code.  37 CFR is broken out as follows:
 

Chapter	Heading	Part
I	United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce	1
II	Copyright Office, Library of Congress	201
III	Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress	301
IV	Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, Department of Commerce	401
V	Under Secretary for Technology, Department of Commerce	501

 

Professional organizations and/or societies often provide very useful topic related information.

American Library Association (ALA)  Copyright Issues
    http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/copyright.htm

Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Federal Relations and Information Policy
    http://www.arl.org/info/frn/copy/copytoc.html

Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Copyright Committee
    http://www.ala.org/ala/acrlbucket/copyrightcommitt/copyrightcommittee.htm

Digital Future Coalition
    http://www.dfc.org/

Educause Copyright/Intellectual Property Policies
    http://www.educause.edu/Browse/645?PARENT_ID=112

 

Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  H.R. 2281
    http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:h.r.2281.enr:

Cornell Law School.  LII/Legal Information Institute.  U S Code collection.
    Title 17 -- Copyrights
    http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode17/usc_sup_01_17.html

Bitlaw:  A Resource on Technology Law; Intellectual Property Regulations (37 CFR) Index
    http://www.bitlaw.com/source/37cfr/index.html

Cornell Law School.  LII/Legal Information Institute.  Supreme Court Collection.  Search the
    opinions of the U S Supreme Court.  Search term 'copyright'
    http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/search/index.html?query=copyright

U S Copyright Office
    http://www.copyright.gov/

North Carolina State University Libraries Scholarly Communication Center.  Online Copyright
    Tutorial Series
    http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/scc/tutorial/

The Copyright Primer
    http://www-apps.umuc.edu/primer/enter.php
 

For a list of Web searching tools, see the Find: web resources page (http://library.semo.edu/find/webpages.html).