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Copyright Law

U.S. Copyright Law materials, research resources and legal database search methods

Question:

MonkeySelfie
• ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯

The images each link to a related non-legal web page. Feel free to click them!

(The federal suit filed on behalf of Naruto the monkey was almost concluded in January 2016. View the 2 page defense Motion to Dismiss. The case was appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which in 2018 declined to accept an agreed settlement between the parties.)

Image copyright credits: show/hide

    • Selfie; Camera owned by David Slater. Image should be in public domain.
    • Google; Andrew Turner, under a Creative Commons attribution generic license (CC BY 2.0), with question text added in lower left inset.
    • Sherlock; BBC © 2014, bbc.co.uk.
    • Aereo; Supreme Court building by Jeff Kubina, released into public domain.
    • JLaw; Jason Merritt / Getty Images North America.
      ...hide

Welcome

In this guide we'd like to:

   Highlight secondary sources you can use as research starting points.

   Describe how you can find copyright cases, journals and materials in the three major legal databases.

   Provide links and information you can follow to locate and track copyright laws and regulations.

   Suggest news and current awareness resources that keep you abreast of developments and emerging issues in this topic.

Please note that many of the resources listed here require a law school log-in and are available only to the FIU College of Law community.

Useful Links

Copyright Basics, An overview of Copyright and copyright procedures.adobe reader icon

A 12 page PDF publication from the Copyright Office.

Copyright: Overview, from Westlaw. College of Law access only icon

A much longer and detailed overview from the Practical Law  pages in the IP section of Westlaw.

Charts and Tools, from Stanford Library's Copyright and Fair Use pages.

An excellent compilation of 30 links to copyright tools and charts in 9 different categories. In particular check out the Copyright Slider and the link to their Renewals Database.

Major sections of the Copyright Act

Almost all the copyright law of the United States can be found in one location: the Copyright Act, which is codified at Title 17 of the U.S, Code. Some of the key provisions of the Act are:

Section 101 -- Definitions: This section contains the important definitions for understanding what is and what is not covered by copyright law. Among the important definitions in this section are "copies," "collective work," "derivative work," "display," "fixed," "joint work," "perform," "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works," "publication," "publicly," "useful article," and "work made for hire."

Section 102 -- Subject Matter of Copyright: In General: Lists eight categories of works of authorship, specifies that copyright protection requires originality and fixation, and excludes ideas, proceduress, processes, methods, and discoveries.

Section 106 -- Exclusive Rights in Copyrighted Works: Lists the rights held by copyright owners, including the right to reproduce, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies of work, to perform the work publicly, and to display the work publicly.

Section 106A -- Rights of Certain Authors to Attribution and Integrity: Sets out the moral rights protections for particular visual works of recognized stature under the Visual Artists Rights Act.

Section 107 --Limitations on Exclusive Rights/Fair Use: Codifies the four factor fair use test from the common law:
 1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
 2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
 3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and,
 4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Section 109 -- Limitations on Exclusive Rights/Exemption of Certain Performances and Displays: Provides several specific safe harbors for the performance and display of copyrighted works.

Section 201 -- Ownership of Copyright: Assigns copyright ownership to "authors."

Section 203 -- Termination of Transfers and Licenses Granted by the  Author: Governs termination of transfers of copyright for transfers executed after January 1, 1978.

Sections 302, 303, and 304 -- Duration of Copyright: Sets the length of copyright protection. Incorporates the 20 year extension of copyright under the Copyright Term Extension Act.

The entire Act. along with related criminal provisions, international agreements and historical material can be downloaded from the Copyright Law page of the U.S. Copyright Office.

Source: Prof. Mark Bartholomew, SUNY Buffalo Law School; Copyright Law guide.

Coyright Office Fair Use Index

Search the Fair Use Index case law database.

"The goal of the Index is to make the principles and application of fair use more accessible and understandable to the public by presenting a searchable database of court opinions, including by category and type of use (e.g., music, internet/digitization, parody)."

Guides from other Institutions

Boston Univ. School of Law - Copyright Law Research Guide.

The guide provides copyright related search procedure walk-throughs, plus information not covered in this guide. It is well worth viewing.