Copyright Tutorial
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Copyright is a legal doctrine that provides an author a set of exclusive rights when their expression is captured in a fixed tangible medium. This doctrine is recognized by most governments and is also protected by international treaties. The content provided here deals almost exclusively with U.S. Copyright Law and is intended as an overview of the controlling federal statute as well as commentary regarding leading case law. However, brief mention is made of relevant international treaties as well. Additional resources are provided (via links) where more up to date statutory language may be found. The intent, as with all of our tutorials, is to provide an introduction to a rather complex and important topic in a manner suitable for obtaining a working knowledge of the doctrine. Copyright is indeed the workhorse of the Internet and a certain level of literacy is becoming almost mandatory for all digital entrepreneurs, from startups to the Fortune 500. Copyright law has a long history of responding to technological innovation and the "digital economy" has presented its own unique challenges in this regard. Where appropriate, the commentary focuses on copyright law's impact vis-a-vis doing business on the Internet. However, please keep in mind that entire treatises have been written on the topic of copyright law, without exhausting the subject. This tutorial simply represents an introduction. Some topics are reachable directly from the table of contents (e.g. Fair Use) but are also covered where they apply within the statutory framework. For those of you that may be so inclined, the entire U.S. Code Title 17 is available here. |
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| Internet Copyright Lawyers. We know the law & we know the web. |
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