Please note that I am not an attorney and do not have legal training. These links are provided to help users gain general knowledge about copyright relating to multimedia. While these resources have all been chosen using the Criteria for Pathfinders I cannot guarentee that all of the information is 100% accurate. The rapid changes in technology mean that there are regular changes to the specifics for remaining in compliance with copyright law. If you have a specific compliance question it is best to consult a legal expert in copyright law. This pathfinder is focused on the United States.
Sections 108 and 110
- 108 Study Group from the Library of Congress It includes information about the group, brief information about digital copyright, and links to information about section 108.
- Section 108: Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries and archives
- Title 17, Section 110: Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays Title 17, section 110 involves fair use in relation to specific types of performances and displays
- Georgia State Department of Law's UNOFFICIAL interpretation of Fair Use This text document includes excerpts and an interpretation of Title 17.
US Government
- Search for copyrights (including music and films) The site allows you to search by author, title, claimant, registration number, miscellaneous terms (map index term, etc) or conduct a combined search. It is missing some obscure works and is often slow.
- Library of Congress: Copyright and Digital Distance Education This page addresses issues in distance education, but it does not give comprehensive examples.
- How to investigate the copyright status of a work This section gives suggestions and requirements for investigating the status of copyright
- US Copyright Site: Main Page This page includes an extensive site includes a faq, copyright basics, official law and policy, fact sheet, searching capabilities, and other information relating to United States copyright laws
General Multimedia Copyright Information
- Copyright for Music Librarians This site includes a FAQ (with a FAQ search option), guidelines, and additional resources both on the Internet and in print. This is one of the most commonly liked to copyright sites.
- Image Collection Guidelines: The Acquisition and Use of Images in Non-Profit Educational Visual Resources Collections This page from the Visual Resources Association deals with images. It gives check lists for determine fair use, but does not include examples.
- WATCH: Writers, Artist, and Copyright Holders This site from the University of Texas allows the user to search a database for copyright contacts. The database includes some writers, artists, and prominent figures in other creative fields. It is not comprehensive and is for the United States and United Kingdom only. The site also includes a links list
- Copyright and Fair Use in the Digital Age (Educom Review) This article is mostly an explanation of why rather than a list of specific examples
- The Berne Convention, revised This is a full copy of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Paris Text 1971). The Berne treaty covers copyright on an international scale.
- ALA's TEACH Act Best Practices Using Blackboard This is the ALA's official page on following fair use and copyright when using Blackboard. It explains the specific language of the TEACH Act, but does not give specific scenarios.
- ALA's Q & A on the TEACH Act and ALA Library Fact Sheet 7: Video and Copyright These two pages include information about the TEACH Act in general and information about copyright specifically relating to videos.
- TEACH Act Toolkit This site includes resources on the TEACH Act. There is a background information on the Act including a glossary and the TEACH Act in context, information about implementing the Act including a checklist with specific questions and permission guide, best practices including when digitalization is allowed, a TEACH Act faq, and a few links for more information.
- ARL's Copyright and Intellectual Property Page This page is focused on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other official legal information including court cases regarding intellectual property. It includes a small section on orphan works.
- Chilling Effects: Copyright and Derivative Works This site is in favor of a broader interpretation of fair use, but includes links and references to more conservative interpretations of copyright law.
- Webcast on Fair Use This site requires the user to log in to view the webcast archives, but it allows anyone to view the documents for the webcasts. The direct link for the index of documents for past webcasts is here.
- Brown University Copyright and Fair Use This site briefly explains copyright and how to get permission for different types of works including still images, audiovisual, and music
- TEACH Act Guidelines for Courseware, University of Illinois at Springfield This page briefly lists the distinctions and similarities between streaming video and classroom viewed videos
Copyright Resources from Libraries
- Copyright and Distance Education TEACH ACT (Purdue University) This site includes both a quick guide and more detailed examples for copyright in education. It gives information about determining whether something is fair use, how to get permission, and possible alternatives. Digital and print copyright are mixed.
- Cal State Official Guidelines This PDF file is a 2003 summary of the California State University system's policy on intellectual property rights and some history of copyright law.
- University of California system's copyright policy This is the main page for a site that includes a FAQ, links, and the University of California's policies regarding copyright.
- University of Texas Crash Course in Copyright This is one of the most complete I found. There are more detailed menus on the subpages.
- Regents Guide to Understanding Copyright and Educational Fair Use This site from the Office of legal affairs in Georgia includes Q & A style answers about copyright in a variety of situations.
- TEACH ACT: Comparison to older law (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
- Current Issues and Resources (University of Maryland College) This is the main page for a huge list of links regarding copyright. There are some dead links, but there are enough active ones that it is still one of the biggest sources for links.
- Dartmouth's Copyright Policies (including digital media) This page addresses the copyright restrictions for a few scenarios.
- Multimedia Projects for Educational Purposes: Fair Use Guidelines This chart includes how much of a work may be used.
- Copyright (University of Michigan) This new site includes policies and some links.
- University of Oregon Copyright/Intellectual Property Website This is a long list of questions and answers relating to copyright issues including several examples involving distance education.
- University of Pittsburgh's Guide to Copyright This page has a faq and list of links regarding copyright issues including a section dedicated to copyright and the internet.
- Copyright Policy (Wellesley University) This page includes the policies and legalities of various scenarios. The section relating to audiovisual materials is about halfway down the page.
- A Visit to Copyright Bay This graphic intensive site includes whether various scenarios are copyright violations.
- Copyright Use Tutorials (University of North Carolina system) There is one about performances and displays and another one about musical works.
- Copyright Center Teach Act Database (Purdue University) This is a checklist for whether or not a scenario would be legal under the TEACH Act. There are also links to further information about the options.
- Copyright Resources Online (Yale University) This page is a long list of links to copyright related articles and resources from various universities. There are some dead links, but the majority are still active.
- Copyright Information for Educators (California State University, Channel Island) This site also includes sample policies from other universities.
- Copyright Issues (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo) This page includes copyright policies and information divided into categories including multimedia, distance learning, and research and publication.
- California State University, Chico's copyright policy and links This page is a list of their copyright policies and a few links including a link to their policy on media materials (PDF file)
- California State University, Humboldt Library's List of Copyright Links This is a large list of links regarding copyright including a section on music copyright,
- Copyright & Intellectual Property (University of California, Davis) This site includes policies and links to information about various forms of intellectual property in higher education including information about obtaining permission. It includes information both about using copyright works in teaching and research.
- An example of a permission request letter for a website (Bellingham Public Schools) This is a form letter used to request permission to reprint material from a website.
- Copyright Guidelines (Johns Hopkins) This page admits there is disagreement about what constitutes fair use . The suggestions for obeying copyright are not as strict as the most conservative sites, but they are within the general guidelines posted elsewhere.
- Intellectual Property Copyright and Fair Use Resources Some of the links are for sites already included on this page, but it also has a section for print materials about copyright and online articles about various copyright issues. This page is not divided by the type of material.
- Guide to Copyright Resources (Georgetown Law School) This site has several pages of links to resources about copyright. Some of the resources are intended more for law students than someone checking whether a specific usage is permissible, but there are also a lot of good links.
- Seattle University Copyright Policies This page has a list of policies and general information about copyright interpretation. It includes information about clearing copyright.
- Copyright Policies and Information from Southern Louisiana University This page deals primarily with audiovisual works, music, and software.
- Copyright and Fair Use in Higher Education and Policies (University of Buffalo) This page links to their policies and pages with copyright information in different scenarios. There are links to legal cases related to the scenarios.
Commercial
- Public Performance Rights FAQ and Copyright This is from the distributor Swank and thus some of the safest information
- Motion Picture Licensing Corporation The Motion Picture Licensing Corporation is a good source for information about copyright for media. It also provides an Umbrella License for non-commercial movie exhibitions.
- Copyright Clearance Center The Copyright Clearance Center serves an an intermediary between copyright holders and content users. They manage the rights for over 1.75 million works. It also includes the Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance. This site has a more limited interpretation of fair use and the TEACH Act than the vast majority of sites. I've had occasional trouble accessing this site.