Intended to aid members of the academic community who produce written material (this includes instructors and students) in conforming to the requirements of U.S. copyright law, this easy-to-understand guide presents a current overview of relevant sections of the Copyright Act. The guide is in question and answer format and discusses: the requirements for protection of copyrighted works from unrestricted copying; the doctrine of "fair use" and its limitations; issues pertaining to software and the Internet; procedures on how to obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted material; and information on how to register works for copyright protection. Appendix A contains an excerpt from the legislative history of the 1976 Copyright Act which establishes congressionally endorsed guidelines relating to classroom copyright for educational use. Appendix B contains a coursepack request form. (NKA)