This set of materials is designed to provide readers an introduction to the main principles and characteristics of copyright law. It is not a treatise; readers looking for a comprehensive and detailed examination of the copyright system should instead consult the sources listed at the bottom of this page.
The materials are designed to accompany CopyrightX, a free online course taught by William Fisher under the auspices of HarvardX. However, students and teachers in other settings might find the materials useful. To assist such users, the materials are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. The public at large is encouraged to use, distribute, translate, modify, and build upon these materials, provided that William Fisher and HarvardX are given appropriate credit.
Substantial portions or the materials were originally drafted as part of the Copyright for Librarians project, is a joint venture of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society and Electronic Information for Libraries (eIFL), a consortium of libraries from 50 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. The goal of that project is to provide librarians in developing and transitional countries information concerning copyright law. Librarians who happen upon this page may find that their needs could be met better by consulting the Copyright for Librarians curriculum.
Disclaimer
These materials do not offer legal advice. They provide general information concerning the principles that underlie the copyright system and indicate how various concrete problems are resolved in most countries. They cannot, however, provide reliable guidance concerning how a court in a specific country would respond to a specific set of facts. Thus, if you find yourself coming close to any of the legal boundaries described herein, you should consult a lawyer in your own jurisdiction.
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Contents
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Course Materials:
Contributors
 Additional resources
The two leading treatises on copyright law in the United States are Nimmer on Copyright and Goldstein on Copyright.
A thorough discussion of international copyright law may be found in Paul Edward Geller, ed., International Copyright Law and Practice (2 volumes, Matthew Bender), although its coverage of developing and transitional countries is thin. Other useful paper treatises include Paul Goldstein, International Copyright: Principles, Law, and Practice (Oxford University Press) and Silke von Lewinski, International Copyright Law and Policy (Oxford University Press 2008).
An excellent compendium of the copyright laws in over 100 countries has been assembled by UNESCO: Collection of National Copyright Laws.
The Research Center for the Legal System of Intellectual Property (RCLIP), in cooperation with the Center for Advanced Study & Research on Intellectual Property (CASRIP) of the University of Washington School of Law, is building a comprehensive database of court decisions involving intellectual property (including copyright law) in every country throughout the world. The database is not yet complete but already constitutes a highly valuable research tool, particularly for Asian countries.
A much shorter discussion of how the scope of copyright law has increased over time may be found in William Fisher, "Geistiges Eigentum - ein ausufernder Rechtsbereich: Die Geschichte des Ideenschutzes in den Vereinigten Staaten," in Eigentum im internationalen Vergleich (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1999), 265-91 (English version available as: The Growth of Intellectual Property: A History of the Ownership of Ideas in the United States).
A more recent and more extended discussion of the same topic is James Boyle, The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind)) (Yale University Press 2008) (available for free online).
The best commentary on copyright law in general and its scope in particular remains a book published in 1967 by Benjamin Kaplan: An Unhurried View of Copyright. Sadly, it is only available in print.
A comprehensive discussion of the aspects of copyright law that affect librarians -- and, in particular, librarians in developing countries -- may be found in the eIFL Handbook on Copyright and Related Issues for Libraries.
A short debate between Professors William Fisher and Justin Hughes, organized in May 2009 by the Economist magazine, examines the merits and demerits of the copyright system.
A map, prepared by William Fisher, describing the main features of copyright law in the United States and, to a limited extent, other countries, is available here.
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