Oregon Legal Research BlogYou 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:
Articles Tagged with copyright
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Selling or reproducing original artwork (with bonus copyright legal research guide)
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.
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Enforcing and Defending Copyright Claims in Small Claims Courts?
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.
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First Sale Doctrine Case on U.S. Supreme Court Docket (2012-13)
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).
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Google Books Litigation Family Tree
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.
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Which Creative Commons License Do You Need?
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)
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New(ish) Copyright Organization: Center for Copyright Information
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.
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Caveat Scriptor: Online Publishing & Copyright: “On Amazon, An Uneasy Mix Of Plagiarism And Erotica”
I heard this very interesting story on OBP radio last week. You can read and hear it too:
And, follow the links to source articles, such as this one, among others:
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Copyrighted State Legal Forms can Protect Consumers
While most government documents are in the public domain, not all of them are. Here’s a story about some copyrighted state legal forms and the state (Montana) that sued a company that violated that copyright. The defendants were charging someone lots of money for the forms – when state residents could have used the forms for no charge at all in their own court cases.
This happens in Oregon, too. Before buying legal forms online, find out if there are any free, official Oregon legal forms available. You can ask at the Oregon State Bar, at an Oregon county law library, or you can post the question to L-net.
“State Law Library of Montana Wins Legal Forms Case,” by Judy Meadows, State Law Library of Montana
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Doctrine of First Sale and the U.S. Supreme Court
The Willamette Law School’s “United States Supreme Court News: Willamette Law Online” service, with case summaries and law updates, tells us about this latest U.S. Supreme Court decision:
“On December 13th, 2010 the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the case sumarized below:
Copyright Law (The first sale doctrine of 17 U.S.C. §109(a) does not apply to goods manufactured abroad and later imported into the United States).