Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines

Offering media students and scholars a comprehensive overview of the contemporary issues surrounding intellectual property through the struggle over copyright, Understanding Copyright explores why disagreement is rife and how the policymaking process might accommodate a wider range of views.

The only book written for nonlawyers that covers the entire field of copyright law, it is essential reading for authors, artists, creative people in every medium, the companies that hire them, users of copyrighted material, and anyone with an interest in copyright law from a policy perspective. New material includes greatly expanded coverage of infringement and fair use, with detailed discussion of recent decisions, including the Grateful Dead, Google, and HathiTrust cases. The new edition considers such topics as open access, the defeat of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), file sharing, e-reserves, the status of "orphan works," and the latest developments under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The sixth edition also brings up to date The Copyright Book's plain English explanation of such fundamental topics as authorship and ownership; transfers and licenses of copyright; copyright notice; registration of copyright (including the new online registration and "preregistration" systems); the scope of rights included in copyright, and exceptions to those rights; "moral rights"; compulsory licenses; tax treatment of copyright; and international aspects of copyright law. As copyright issues grow ever more complicated, The Copyright Book becomes ever more indispensable.