According to the federal Copyright Remedy Clarification Act of 1990, state colleges and universities can no longer claim Eleventh Amendment immunity against copyright infringement actions. Faculty and administrators must now be especially careful to understand copyright law requirements and limitations, including fair-use defense and remedies…

Although the 1976 copyright law provides teachers with specific rights and defenses concerning classroom use of copyrighted materials, litigation by publishers has affected college policies. Teachers should be educated concerning assertion of their rights, which will be lost if they are not used. Also, greater protection should be assured by…

An attorney provides answers to frequently asked questions about the application of copyright law to the work of institutional research, including hard copy and electronic publishing, and its dissemination. Institutional researchers are treated as workers for hire, and the employer or institution is deemed the author and copyright holder;…

Discusses copyright law, linking without permission, and trademark law--limiting the manner links are displayed. Explains framing, allowed by law, though particular use of a frame could confuse consumers as to the information source, and how framing may implicate trademark concerns. Examines Second Circuit opinion that could severely limit the…

As a result of actual and anticipated growth in the level of entrepreneurial activities within the University of Maryland System (UMS), and corresponding growth in licensing and royalty revenues, a threshold policy was recommended in the Joint Chairmen's Report of 1996. Such a policy would establish a maximum threshold beyond which a portion of…

Based on the premise that anyone who works with words needs to understand copyright law, this handbook provides forms and step-by-step instructions for protecting all types of written expression under United States and international copyright law. The handbook discusses: (1) how to register a written work with the copyright office; (2) what types…

The agreement of the National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU) with the legislative intent of the new copyright law, which accords copyright protection for computer data bases equivalent with the protection accorded compilations in traditional hard-copy format, includes several problem areas: (1) What copyright…

The Software Subcommittee of the National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU) has proposed some changes in the new copyright law to provide specific protection for computer programs. The rationale for this recommendation includes (1) the necessity for some form of protection to encourage the creation and broad…

An ad hoc task group was constituted by the Committee on Scientific and Technical Information (COSATI) to: (1) delineate present and future issues issues for COSATI, (3) recommend additions or deletions in the present copyright law or in the pending revision now in Congress, and (4) recommend other short or long-term actions related to authorship…

This booklet is an attempt to provide librarians with a short summary of the arguments in favor of library photocopying, combined with a status report on how these arguments have fared in the courts and in the United States Congress. Following an analysis of the issues involved, the case of Williams and Wilkins v. the United States is discussed,…

The objective of this book is to present selected reference and extensive resource materials in the narrow field of the impact of technology upon copyright, with special attention to the revision process presently in progress. The first section of the book is a bibliography, with brief annotations, of about 300 references, most of them from…

Examines federal court and Supreme Court decisions concerning news piracy, record piracy, and tape piracy; concludes that, on the basis of historical analysis, news piracy will be punished. (GW)

Describes a survey of 39 database publishers concerning their policies for downloading, i.e., capture of information into machine-readable format from proprietary databases. Discussion covers fair use principle, long-term storage and reuse, policy enforcement, and per record payment principle. Database publishers surveyed profile of survey…

Comments on court cases dealing with copyrighted materials of special interest to librarians highlight Williams and Wilkins case, Sony case dealing with videocopying, computer programs and databases, government and legal materials in public domain, musical works, and four factors of Section 107 (fair use) of 1976 Copyright Law. (109 references)…

Three categories of legal issues generated by computers on campus are examined: copyrights on programs developed by students, faculty, or staff; contracts in purchasing computers and torts concerning wrongful use; and the expectation that schools will respond to legal/ethical issues differently than commercial organizations. Suggestions for…