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D'Angelo Law Library

Copyright Law Research Guide

Statutory Research

United States Code, Title 17

Print: XXKF62 2000.A2, D'Angelo Law, Wilson Reading Room
LexisNexis: USCS Title 17 - Copyrights, Copyright Act of 1976 (USCS database)
Westlaw: Federal Intellectual Property - U.S. Code Annotated (FIP-USCA database)
Internet: United States Code Title 17 via GPO Access
Internet: United States Code Title 17 via Cornell Legal Information Institute
Internet: United States Code Title 17 via Copyright Office


Legislative Histories

Nimmer on Copyright contains selective legislative history materials, such as congressional committee reports, for various copyright acts.

The following compiled legislative histories for copyright acts are available in the D'Angelo Law Library. See the Federal Legislative History research guide for information about compiling a legislative history for other copyright statutes.

Copyright Act of 1909

Legislative History of the 1909 Copyright Act
Print: XXKF2989.54.A150 1976, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks (6 vols.)
Online: HeinOnline

Copyright Act of 1976

Omnibus Copyright Revision Legislative History
Print: XXKF2989.56.A15 2001, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks (17 vols.)
Online: HeinOnline

The Kaminstein Legislative History Project : A Compendium and Analytical Index of Materials Leading to the Copyright Act of 1976
Print: Z642.K176, Regenstein Bookstacks (3 vols.)
Online: HeinOnline

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Federal Copyright Law: The Legislative Histories of the Major Enactments of the 105th Congress
Print: XXKF2989.8 1999, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks (5 vols.)
Online: HeinOnline

DMCA Legislative History, Compiled by Home Recording Rights Coalition
Internet: HRRC

No Electronic Theft Act/Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Federal Copyright Law: The Legislative Histories of the Major Enactments of the 105th Congress
Print: XXKF2989.8 1999, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks (5 vols.)
Online: HeinOnline

NET Legislative History, Compiled by the Library of Congress
Internet: THOMAS

No Electronic Theft Act Policy Team Report, Published by U.S. Sentencing Commission
Internet: USSC

Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998

Federal Copyright Law: The Legislative Histories of the Major Enactments of the 105th Congress
Print: XXKF2989.8 1999, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks (5 vols.)
Online: HeinOnline

Bill Summary and Status, Compiled by the Library of Congress
Internet: THOMAS

House Report 105-452
Internet: GPO Access


Case Law Research

Reporters

The United States Patents Quarterly
Print: XXKF2975.3.B87, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks
Online: BNA Intellectual Property Library

Finding tools

The United States Patents Quarterly. Annual Digest.
Print: XXKF2975.3.U52, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks

Electronic Sources for Copyright Decisions

LexisNexis: COPYRT;FEDCTS
Westlaw: FIP-CS (FIP-CS database)
Internet: Recent Supreme Court Cases (from Legal Information Institute, Cornell)


Administrative Law Research

Code of Federal Regulations: Title 37, Chapter II

Print: XXKF70.A3, D'Angelo Law, Wilson Reading Room
LexisNexis: COPYRT;ALLREG
Westlaw: FIP - CFR
Online: Code of Federal Regulations Title 37 via HeinOnline (1938-1983)
Internet: Code of Federal Regulations Title 37 Chapter II via GPO Access
Internet: Code of Federal Regulations Title 37 Chapter II via U.S. Copyright Office

Federal Register

Print: XXKF70.A2, D'Angelo Law, Wilson Reading Room (recent issues only)
LexisNexis: COPYRT;ALLREG
Westlaw: FIP-FR
Online: Federal Register via HeinOnline
Internet: Federal Register via GPO Access
Internet: Copyright Notices from the Federal Register (1993-date)


Secondary Sources

Research Guide

"Copyright Law", Chapter 4 of Specialized Legal Research, provides exhaustive coverage of copyright law sources in print and electronic formats.

Print: XXKF240.S690 1987, D'Angelo Law, Reference Desk

Background Reading

Understanding Copyright Law
Print: XXKF2994.L43 2005, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks

Copyright Office Basics
Internet: U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright Office Basics

Copyright Law
Internet: FindLaw - Copyright Law

Major Treatises and Looseleaf Services

Goldstein on Copyright
Print: XXKF2989.G65 2005, D'Angelo Law, Reserve (4 vols.; loose-leaf)
LexisNexis: COPYRT;COPYRT

Copyright Law and Practice
Print: XXKF2994.P350 1994, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks (3 vols.)

Nimmer on Copyright
Print: XXKF2989.58.A15 2000, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks (10 vols.; loose-leaf; updated 3x year)
LexisNexis: COPYRT;NIMMER

Finding Articles in Journals and Law Reviews

LexisNexis and Westlaw both provide databases specifically for finding articles on copyright law.

LexisNexis: COPYRT;IPLR
Westlaw: IP-TP


Current Awareness

BNA's Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal
Print: XXKF3091.A3B53, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks
Online: BNA's Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal

The United States Patents Quarterly
Print: XXKF2975.3.B87, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks
Online: BNA Intellectual Property Library

Copyright NewsNet
Internet: U.S. Copyright Office


Practice Materials

Forms

American Jurisprudence Legal Forms (v.5B)
Print: XXKF170.A542, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks
Westlaw: AMJUR-LF

West's Legal Forms: Intellectual Property--Copyrights & Trademarks (v.25A)
Print: XXKF1384.A65W47 1981, D'Angelo Law, Bookstacks
Internet: U.S. Copyright Office Forms

Federal Copyright Registrations

LexisNexis: COPYRT;ALLCOPY
Internet: Copyright Records: Registrations and Documents

Copyright Practice Aids

Compendium II: Compendium of Copyright Office Practices...
Print: XXKF3002.A8290 1984, D'Angelo Law, Reserve Room (current)

Copyright Office Circulars
Internet: Copyright Information Circulars and Fact Sheets

Fair Use Resources

Copyright & Fair Use Resource Page
Internet: Stanford University Libraries


U.S. Copyright Office

The U.S. Copyright Office web site provides a variety of practice materials, as well as publications for practitioners and lay persons. For example:

Copyright Basics gives basic information about copyright, works that are protected under copyright law, and how to register a work. The Frequently Asked Questions about Copyright page provides information about the U.S. Copyright Office and basic procedures.

Copyright Registration provides information on the various types of works that can be registered, as well as step-by-step instructions on how to register them.

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