Chapter 20 of a book on school law provides guidelines for school access to copyrighted materials. The 1976 copyright law, which became effective January 1, 1978, abolished common law copyright and established a single federal system. Certain sections of the law under the judicial doctrine of fair use are subject to exceptions that are of benefit…

The impact of the 1976 copyright laws on educational institutions is unclear. This sixteenth chapter of a book on school law discusses copyright legislation and cases of interest to educators, dividing copyright problems into four categories: photocopying, performance, videotaping, and computer programs. The guidelines that can be drawn from…