Copyright FAQ

Copyright FAQ A well-researched FAQ debunking common misconceptions about copyright law.
Copyright Myths An updated HTML version of the same FAQ by Brad Templeton.
Advanced Copyright Issues A paper by David L. Hayes of Fenwick & West. Covers WIPO, caching, and ISP liability
Copyright Questions by Janet Logan. Another site at Stanford.
US Copyright Office The Home page of the US Copyright Office. Includes laws, forms, and procedures.
US Department of Justice manual for the prosecution of intellectual property crimes.
Intellectual Property Law An exhaustive series of links to copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret law at the Franklin Pierce Law Center. MetaCrawler search for "Intellectual Property"
17 USC 101 Copyright Law The first sections consists of definitions.
The Digital Millenium Copyright Act implements WIPO, but excludes database copyrights. It's found at the Home Recording Rights (HHRC) site.
The Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 requires the incorporation of serial copying controls
17 USC 107 "Fair Use" is a somewhat elusive concept, but never justifies the copying of large parts of a work.
18 USC 2319 Criminal Penalties the reproduction or distribution, during any 180-day period, may of at l[e]ast 10 copies or phonorecords, of 1 or more copyrighted works, with a retail value of more than $2,500; may result in imprisonment of 1 to ten years. The "No Electronic Theft Act", signed by president Clinton on 16 Dec 97, makes it clear that the distribution of copyrighted works without financial gain to the distributor is nonetheless a criminal act.
17 USC 506 Criminal Infringement Any person who infringes a copyright willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain shall be punished as provided in section 2319 of title18. also provides criminal penalties for fraudulent removal of copyright notices. Another site for this statute.
18 USC 3571 Fines This section provides for fines of up to $250,000 for individuals.

EFF Intellectual Property Law Primer An Intellectual Property Law Primer for Multimedia and Web Developers at EFF.
Oppedahl & Larson Patent Law Web Server Intellectual Property Law Web Server Provided by the law firm of Oppedahl & Larson
Feist vs. Rural Telephone 499 US 340: You Can't Copyright Facts (An attempt to copyright a telephone directory was rejected). There are attempts underway to bypass this ruling via a treaty. See WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). There is another page at Stanford discussing this treaty. The Union for the Public Domain has this discussion of database extraction rights.
Union for the Public Domain "Our mission is to protect and enhance the public domain in matters concerning intellectual property."

Shrink-Wrapped Licenses: general A treatise on the enforceability of shrink-wrap licenses
Shrink-Wrapped Licenses: ProCD v. Zeidenberg - InfoNation article. The Seventh Circuit upholds a shrink-wrap license.
ProCD v. Zeidenberg , Seventh Circuit decision
Click and Buy laws clicking with your mouse may constitute a binding contract.