Lawyers at Adler Vermillion & Skocilich, LLP have made this remarkable copyright resource publicly available – and free. (Thank you!)
Copyright Codex (Beta): A Free Treatise for Lawyers and Artists
Many thanks for the tip from Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites blog, where you will find information about the Copyright Codex and much more, including a link to a Trial of Whitey Bulger website.
You can find a list of the Oregon’s recent BitTorrent and Peer-to-Peer (download) cases, copies of complaints, and other information at the Oregon Intellectual Property Law’s February 26, 2013, post:
We’ve had many patrons ask questions about copyright, including an interesting one about getting permission to sell or make reproductions of an original oil painting. If you own an original work of art and are looking for resources on reproducing the artwork for profit and/or obtaining authorization to resell the artwork, including finding the applicable forms, there are a few resources you can try (including our new legal research guide on copyright law).
Permission and copyright in regards to artistic works can be a bit more complex than other forms of copyright. Nolo press publishes a number of excellent copyright-related titles that provide an overview of the issue including: Getting Permission: How to License & Clear Copyrighted Materials Online & Off; Patent, Copyright & Trademark; and The Craft Artist’s Legal Guide (check at your local public library to see if they carry the above-mentioned titles).
Works of visual art are covered by copyright. However, certain kinds of works of visual art (particularly limited editions) are also protected under the attribution and integrity aspects of the Visual Rights Act (VARA), 17 United States Code, Section 106A . Circular 40 from the US Copyright Office covers copyright registration for works of visual art. The Artists Rights Society also covers other rights assigned to artwork creators, including resale rights and moral rights. The Craft Artist’s Legal Guide has a section on what rights a customer has when they buy a work of art. Nolo has an online article that covers the basics of assignments and licensing.
Law in the News alerts us to this article at Plagiarism Today:
“Update on the Potential Copyright Small Claims Court,” February 28, 2013, by Jonathan Bailey
The author has done an excellent job summarizing the problem and proposed solutions and linking to other sources of information.
Librarians and lawyers are watching this U.S. Supreme Court case on copyright law:
Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (11-697)
You can link to filed documents from SCOTUS Blog (and at PACER for the full docket).
The Law Librarian Blog alerts us to the Google Books Litigation Family Tree, developed by Jonathan Band, Library Copyright Alliance, et al.
There’s nothing like a flow chart for tracking complex processes.
Creative Commons has a new “license chooser“ that walks you through the process of selecting the right Creative Commons license.
While Creative Commons licenses aren’t just for students and teachers, this article from the School Library Journal highlights a copyright “teachable moment” opportunity for you and your children.
Excerpt: New Creative Commons license chooser (Posted by joycevalenza on August 5th, 2012)
Not to be confused with Scams and Swindles, parodies, hoaxes, and April Fool jokes play a somewhat different role in history. (See, e.g. “The best historical pranks and hoaxes,” from The Independent (01 April 2010))
I ran across the following legal commentary at Justia’s Verdict website:
As if copyright wasn’t complicated enough, we have a new organization (since Sept 2011): Center for Copyright Information
You can read about them, their FAQ, and their Facts.
If it wasn’t such a fascinating, aggravating, and historically curious topic, I would probably just add copyright to my list of dogs-breakfast topics. But if you are brave, wise, and have the patience of Job, Siddhartha, and Nelson Mandela all rolled into one magnificent being, I highly recommend copyright as a subject to conquer, not unlike colonizing other planets and wars to end all wars.
Oregon Legal Research Blog