Crews, Kenneth D. Copyright, Fair Use, and the Challenge for Universities: Promoting the Progress of Higher Education. Univ. of Chicago Pr., 1993 (ISBN: 0-226-12055-4).
Makes the case that, by following narrow guidelines and formulating policies based on fear of infringement, universities have given away many of their rights under fair use, and calls for a “full reappraisal” of copyright law and guidelines as they apply to higher education. Contains an analysis of the copyright policies of ninety-eight American universities.
Goldstein, Paul. Copyright’s Highway: From Gutenberg to the Celestial Jukebox, rev. ed. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford Law and Politics/Stanford Univ. Pr., 2003 (ISBN: 0-8047-4735-0).
Explores the history and philosophical underpinnings of copyright from its earliest manifestation, largely through anecdotal histories of major court battles. Features excellent analysis of the future implications of current technological innovations and the fundamental differences between U.S. and European intellectual property laws.
Lessig, Lawrence. Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity. New York: Penguin, 2004 (ISBN: 1-594-20006-8).
Functions as a call to arms over the shrinking of the public domain via intellectual-property law, including copyright, patents, and trademarks. Describes the historical balance between the rights of copyright owners and users and recommends solutions to the “creeping expansion” of control of information. Debunks common misconceptions such as “if value, then right” and the notion of widespread “piracy.”
Litman, Jessica. Digital Copyright. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Bks., 2001 (ISBN: 1-573-92889-5).
Describes how copyright laws are formed as interested parties hash out a compromise, and consumers are denied a seat at the table. Specific manifestations of this phenomenon are illustrated through the history of technological challenges to copyright law. The author’s proposed solution to the current intellectual-property crisis is fascinating–namely, to take the “copy” out of copyright.
Patterson, Lyman R. The Nature of Copyright: A Law of User’s Rights. Athens: Univ. of Georgia Pr., 1991 (ISBN: 0-820301347-5).
This highly influential book lays out a vision of copyright law that benefits copyright holders and users alike. The author’s doctrine of “users’ rights” provides a powerful framework for understanding fair use and the way in which the law responds to technological changes.
Vaidhyanathan, Siva. Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity. (New York: New York Univ. Pr., 2001 (ISBN:0-8147-8806-8).
Advocates for “thin” copyright protection as more in keeping with the history of U.S. copyright law than the current trend toward consolidation and control. Responds to recent developments from a philosophical, rather than a purely legal, perspective. Explores notions of “authorship” and “original works” through the lens of political philosophy and applies them to current battles over copyright of film and music.
Current Awareness
The periodicals below publish regularly on the topic and should be of interest to those wishing to keep abreast of recent developments. All of these titles are also available in electronic formats, generally via aggregators or other forms of subscription.
Against the Grain. Charleston, S.C.: Katina Strauch, 1989-. Bimonthly (ISSN: 1043-2094).
American Libraries. Chicago: ALA, 1970-. Eleven issues per year (ISSN: 0002-9769).
Chronicle of Higher Education. Washington, D.C.: Chronicle of Higher Education, 1966-. Weekly (ISSN: 0009-5982).
Harvard Journal of Law and Technology. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, 1988-. Three issues per year (ISSN: 0897-3393).
Information Outlook: The Monthly Magazine of the Special Libraries Association. Washington, D.C.: Special Library Association, 1997-. Monthly (ISSN: 1091-0808).
Information Today. Medford, N.J. Information Today, 1983-. Monthly, except Jul./Aug. (ISSN: 8755-6286).
Library Journal. New York: Reed Business Information, 1876-. Semimonthly, monthly Jul./Aug. (ISSN: 0363-0277).
New Media Age. London: Centaur Pub., 1997-. Weekly (ISSN: 1364-7776).
Publishers Weekly. New York: Reed Business Information, 1873-. Weekly (ISSN: 0000-0019).
Periodical Databases
The databases listed below include information on copyright and fair use, and are a good source for identifying recent articles on the topic. The best search strategy is presented for each database.
Academic Search Premier, EBSCO. From the Advanced Search page, search for “copyright” as a subject term and “fair use” and “digital” in default fields. Limit to scholarly publications and desired date range.
Dissertation Abstracts, ProQuest/UMI. From the Basic Search page, search for “copyright” and “fair use” as keywords.
ERIC, EBSCO. From the Advanced Search page, search for “copyright AND “fair use” AND digital.” Limit by desired date range and rank results by date or relevance.
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts,
EBSCO. From the Advanced Search page, search for “copyright AND “fair use” AND digital.” Limit to scholarly publications and desired date range.
LISA: Library and Information Science Abstracts, CSA. From the Advanced Search page, search for “copyright” as a descriptor and “fair use” and “digital” anywhere. Limit to English and desired date range.
Library Literature & Information Science Full Text, Wilson. From the Advanced Search page, search for “copyright” and “fair use” as All-Smart Search and limit to peer-reviewed publications and desired date range.
Social Sciences Citation Index, Institute for Scientific Information. From Start page, click on Web of Science and General Search Search for “copyright AND “fair use”" as Topic and limit to Language=English and Document Type=Articles as well as desired date range.
Internet Resources
The Internet resources listed below are all useful reference tools for research on copyright and fair use. Because fair use is an important concept in an educational institution, many universities maintain copyright-resource Web sites for their students, staff, and faculty. The majority of the sites listed here fall into this category, and were selected due to the quality of their original content, the strength of their links pages, or both. Each of them includes general resources on copyright and fair use, as well as recent developments in copyright of digital information. Many other universities, including Yale and the University of Texas, include substantive copyright resources on their Web sites. These sites are accessible by following the links below. The U.S. Copyright Office, ALA’s Washington Office, and the World Intellectual Property Organization make up the remainder of this list; they are all important and authoritative resources for anyone seeking to understand the current state of copyright law and fair use. All of the sites included here are well designed, current, and broad enough in scope to be useful to a variety of searchers.
ALA Washington Office Copyright Issues
This is the “Copyright Issues” page of ALA’s Washington Office. Because the office focuses on policy and government relations, many of the resources on the site deal with copyright of digital information and recent developments. It covers a range of issues, including fair-use legislation and DMCA, and each entry includes an overview, analysis, and links to other resources.
University at Albany Libraries Intellectual Property, Copyright and Fair-Use Resources
University at Albany’s fair-use page is intended for faculty and students who deal with copyrighted works in their research. It features an extensive collection of links and citations, in areas ranging from the text of the law itself, guides, organizations, and discussion lists. A number of the resources listed deal with copyright of software and other electronic information.
When U.S. Works Pass into the Public Domain (by Lolly Gasaway)
This site is more limited in scope than the others listed here, but it is an important resource for researching the copyright status of works published in the United States.
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Copyright Management Center
The Copyright Management Center at IUPUI was the first university office of its kind in the country, and it was developed to support the educational and creative mission of the university in a complex legal environment. Its Web site serves as a source of practical information regarding the use of copyrighted materials in the university environment, and features strong coverage of fair use and copyright of digital materials. It also provides links to other Internet resources, mainly frequently asked questions pages.
Rutgers University Libraries Copyright Information (by Jeanne Boyle)
This site is the Rutgers University Libraries research guide on copyright. The guide ranges in scope from the university’s intellectual-property polices to a collection of international copyright laws. It includes links to many other sites including practical guide to copyright and fair use, organizations, and author and publisher agreements.
I would say that you fill these new shoes very well. This is a well done and expertly researched article on a very diffictul subject. Your sources could contain a quarters reading in a MLS program. Thanks so much for a clear and well done piece.