Blog on copyright and publishing run by Kevin Smith

Norwestern's very pretty new LibGuide on scholarly communication. Includes sections on Copyright and Author's rights

Subject Guide hosted by University of Connecticut.

This guide will point you toward resources to help navigate the complex world of music copyright issues.

The Digital Image Rights Computator (DIRC) program is intended to assist the user in assessing the intellectual property status of a specific image documenting a work of art, a designed object, or a portion of the built environment. Understanding the presence or absence of rights in the various aspects of a given image will allow the user to make nformed
decisions regarding the intended educational uses of that image.

Recommendations for librarians, archivists, curators, and other collections staff.

Who owns the copyright to my thesis? How do I register my copyright? Am I required to register my copyright in order to deposit my thesis? Is there a way for me to retain my copyright when I submit an article for publication?

Library practices for electronic reserve reading services are derived from the fair use provisions of the United States Copyright Act of 1976.

Explanations, tips, links.

Intellectual property: objectives, definitions, application, copyrights, other intellectual property, trademarks, intellectual property administration, proceeds distribution

WIPO works on the development of international norms and standards in the area of copyright and related rights. The WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is presently discussing important issues such as limitations and exceptions, the protection of audiovisual performances and the protection of broadcasting organizations.

Downloadable brochure aAimed at faculty and teaching assistants. Among the topics covered in the brochure are: fair use, the advantage of linking to instead of copying works, and special provisions for displaying or performing works in classes. The brochure also includes a one-page chart that highlights 24 situations when various categories of works can be used.

Some publishers require you to sign away your rights to your intellectual property in order to have your research published. In such cases, you may lose all control over further reproduction or dissemination of your work. You may need to seek the publisher's permission to use your own work in a course packet, or to post it on your personal website or in an institutional repository such as the University's IDEALS. Further, your institution's library is often forced to pay prohibitively high prices to buy back access to the work that you freely gave to the publisher. Thus, you and your institution could find yourselves locked out from your own published research.

This page contains information about copyright information and policies from the University's Chief Information Officer.

U.S. Copyright Office publication about the duration of copyright protection.

Collective licensing agencies are organizations meant to centralize copyright ownership information for their respective industries. These centers can expedite your search substantially, either by putting you directly in touch with a copyright owner or by negotiating the copyright usage itself. Many of these organizations can instantly grant permission online. This will eliminate a need to identify, locate, and contact the creator entirely. For that reason, contacting the appropriate collective licensing centers may be the best way to start your search. However, most of these agencies do charge a fee for their services.

Assuming the work you wish to use is protected, your use is not a fair use or otherwise exempt from liability for infringement, and the work has not been licensed for your use online, you need permission. Now what? From the University of Texas.

IFRRO works to increase on an international basis the lawful use of text and image based copyright works and to eliminate unauthorised copying by promoting efficient Collective Management of rights through RROs to complement creators' and publishers' own activities.

Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) is a global rights broker for the world's most sought after print and online content, from books, journals and newspapers to blogs and images.

What this (American Library Association) tool can do for you:
Help you better understand how to determine the "fairness" of a use under the U.S. Copyright Code.
Collect, organize & archive the information you might need to support a fair use evaluation.
Provide you with a time-stamped, PDF document for your records [example], which could prove valuable, should you ever be asked by a copyright holder to provide your fair use evaluation and the data you used to support it.
Provide access to educational materials, external copyright resources, and contact information for copyright help at local & national levels.

U.S. Copyright Office fact sheet on fair use.

This database (from Stanford) makes searchable the copyright renewal records received by the US Copyright Office between 1950 and 1992 for books published in the US between 1923 and 1963. Note that the database includes ONLY US Class A (book) renewals.

Search copyright information for works registered and documents recorded by the U.S. Copyright Office since January 1, 1978.

U.S. Copyright Office publication on "How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work."

Home page for the U.S. Copyright Office. This site includes the text of the current copyright law.

User slider to help determine if a work is still under copyright in the United States. From Michael Brewer and the ALA Office for Information Policy.

Peter B. Hirtle's multi-page chart explaining copyright terms.

We are pleased to offer the following “Checklist for Fair Use” as a helpful tool for the academic community. We hope that it will serve two purposes. First, it should help educators, librarians, and others to focus on factual circumstances that are important to the evaluation of a contemplated fair use of copyrighted works. Kenneth D. Crews, Indiana University Copyright Management Center

Laura Gasaway's chart on determining whether a work is the in the public domain, i.e. not protected by copyright and my be freely used by everyone.