Intellectual Property Books

Step by step you will be introdused in to the labylinth of US patent schedule. Thies review is for 2nd ed. eBook.

I read this book, it was pretty nice information. But the information serves nowhere near to the level of information required by a professional patent searcher or analyst. This book does not explain much about theoretical aspects of patent searching and analytics, citations, and types of patent searching and their importance. Overall, this is a good guide-book for a private inventor, but not for a patent professional!!

Too often, inventors and business owners plunge ahead with an exciting new idea. They invest large sums of money in research and tooling only to find the idea is already patented or that it cannot be patented because it is actually not a new idea. The solution for avoiding this waste of time and money is a preliminary patent search. By using this book, you can rapidly learn how to tap into the remarkable facilities that are available today and find a quick and low cost answer to the question of whether to go ahead or abandon an idea.

The amazing beauty of some of these information sources is that you can reach them from your home, your desk at work, or at a nearby library. Even if you feel you are computer illiterate, "a dinosaur", you'll find the author's step by step instructions will enable you to find a gold mine of information pertaining to your invention.

The author starts out with an overview that clarifies the differences between various intellectual properties such as patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. He notes it is important to overcome the common misconception that patent owners can count on law enforcement agencies to defend their patents. The government will not. A patent is not a defensive legal right, but rather an offensive legal right. It is you that must sue infringers.

He then discusses some of the patent searching basic principles and tools. He simply and clearly presents how electronic databases now allow you to extract and examine patent data. He covers the basics, such as keywords, wildcards, and Boolean logic in an easy to understand steps accompanied by pictures that show you exactly how the information will appear on your computer screen.

After you become at home with the fundamental methods, you are introduced to advanced methods that you can use on the PTO and EPO (European Patent Office) Websites. He explains, in plain English, how to use the XOR Boolean operator, proximity operators and how to use wildcards. The author even shows you how to translate sections of foreign patents online, at no cost. You will be pleasantly surprised as to how soon these arcane sounding terms and methods become old friends. Again, in each case, examples and their screen images will aid you to grasp what is going on.

While computer searching on the Internet has become a terrific starting point, the author stresses the continuing importance of using the facilities of the Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDL) that are available throughout the nation (addresses and phone numbers are given in the appendix).

The writer details how using and understanding the patent office patent classification system will greatly aid your search efforts. This involves using the Index to the U.S. Patent Classification System, the Manual of Classification, and the Classification Definitions. He gives examples and reproductions taken directly from these books.

Some inventors make the mistake of failing to check non-patent office sources for prior art. The use of the Google Internet search engine is described and the addresses for several other search engines are given. Another basic source for information is the Thomas Register which is now also on the WWW. The use of government agencies is also covered. Yet another tool covered, are the many discussion group Websites.

At the conclusion, the author gives suggestions for analyzing your search results. He notes it is common to come up with a half a dozen prior art patents and cites the four Patent Office criteria regarding Statutory Class, Utility, Novelty, and Unobvious. He notes the mental trap inventors often fall into by thinking "that if an aspect of your invention hasn't been "claimed" in a prior patent, you can claim it."

This is a terrific, up-to-date, book for learning how to do a preliminary patent search at a very low cost.

Mr. Hitchcock's book has made my life a lot easier. All the info you need is right there. I'm sure you could take the time to look some of it up, but there are a lot of techniques and tricks that I never would have thought of. I especially like the Searcher's Secrets that are highlighted throughout the book.

Then there is the discussion of Usenet as a resource. Most people think that the World Wide Web (WWW) and the Internet are the same things, but that's only because browser programs make it easy to surf the Web. Hitchcock explains how to use the thousands of discussion groups on Usenet to answer specific questions.

The thing I really like the most is the chapter on the European Patent Office (EPO). If my patent search at the US Patent Office turns up some foreign patents, I can check them out online. There is even a way to translate the text of foreign patents into English for FREE! That little trick has already saved me about 10 times the cost of the book in translation fees.

Great job!

With the constant improvement in computer resources available to the inventor who wants to do his own patent searching, an updated version of this fine book is a welcome sight. Observe the dates on reviews of this book to see that those citing a need for an update are old and should be dismissed.
The patent literature is an excellent resource for researchers or inventors to learn what has been done in their field of endeavor. Professional inventors use the patent literature to spark their own ideas. Surprise! -- That is the intended purpose of our patent system -- "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts...." Learning how to access this resource is useful to all involved in improving our technology.

A good book answering my questions about encription and if it's safe to send your credit card over the internet, but now all of them.

During the civil war in Beirut some years ago, Life magazine ran a photo essay of people lounging around a hotel pool, ostensibly oblivious to the hostilities around them. In a similar sense, many people are unaware of a skirmish currently being fought on the digital battlefield: the war for protection of personal privacy.

The authors of this book assert that privacy is one of the underpinnings of a democratic society, and that if the democratic society in the United States is to survive, Americans must maintain privacy in communications. In addition, the means of protecting that privacy must be built into all current and future communication systems.

In recent years, the convergence of the Internet, telecommunications, and other technologies has elevated personal privacy to new levels of importance. It is now possible to effortlessly track a person's every movement, from the path of the morning commute to the choice of sandwich at lunch. Every keystroke and e-mail transmission can likewise be monitored.

Authors Whitfield Diffie and Susan Landau assert that in the "old days," when communications largely occurred face to face, privacy was simply a matter of stepping aside from those who butted in. With voice communications traveling over cellular networks, through the Internet, and via other pathways prone to compromise, the best method of securing such communications is with strong encryption.

The authors argue their case effectively and engagingly, and are uniquely qualified to do so, especially in the case of Diffie. He is one of the seminal computer scientists of the last 30 years, and hardly a household doesn't benefit from security technology he helped develop. While he has written scholarly tomes and dissertations on encryption, Diffie does an excellent job here of explaining in plain English how such technologies operate and why they are crucial to a free society.

The book details numerous privacy issues, from personal privacy to national security. It starts with a brief overview of cryptography, just enough to educate the reader without boring the nonmathematician. The rest of the book explores issues related to today's communications systems, such as wiretapping. A welcome surprise is that the book often reads like a Tom Clancy novel, interwoven as it is with episodes of domestic and international intrigue.

Privacy on the Line is a timely and important book, relevant to every citizen, wired or not. Security professionals will find this work well worth their time.

This review of mine originally appeared at http://www.securitymanagement.com/library/000740.html

This is an excellent viewpoint into personal privacy isssues in contemporary society. I recommend it to people interested in understanding the current issues associated with govt legislation of cryptography and personal privacy. The book is written from a viewpoint critical of the US govt position and it serves as an excellent balance to law enforcement writings on government requirements for key escrow systems.

This is the most clearly written book on the sources of the problems facing our right to privacy that I have seen yet. Well documented, well written and shows just what the Federal Government is doing to eliminate our ability to have private communication. I suggest that this book should be considered urgent reading. It could be the one that wakes everybody up.

For those out of the crypto loop, the lead author, Whitfield Diffie was co-developer of public key encryption technology at Stanford several decades ago and stands as one of the most knowledgeable figures in the field of cryptography. Though the public policy aspects of cryptography are an important part of what this book is about, it is really a book with much broader implications, especially with the passage of the Patriot Act which strips U.S. citizens of any meaningful court oversight in the search and surveillance arenas. Now that the justice department has unleashed the Magic Lantern trojan horse on the public, the warnings found in this book pale by comparison since it was written before 9/11 events. The author delineates the many rationale for why respect for privacy is a good idea and how arguments to the contrary are basically flawed. Those in law enforcement and national security roles cyclically lobby for totalitarian capabilities, get them, become insatiable with MKULTRA type scenarios, get discovered, get their hands slapped and start over again when the headlines subside. Meanwhile taxpayers take a beating in lost jobs, ruined reputations, unwarranted jail time, suicides and the like. Since it is obvious that lawmakers have been delinquent in learning these lessons, what will happen when someone detonates a nuclear device in a large city and the justice department introduces legislation for mandatory implants? How will you be able to turn back after that? Tick, tick, tick...
Read Diffie, think hard about lessons unlearned and what you can do about it. Ask your lawmakers to MAKE NEW MISTAKES.

Good solid basic introduction to the legal aspects of clearance and copyrights for all video and filmmakers and photographers. Language is clear English (not legalise, like so many books on the topic - even many written for laymen). Book even has generic forms that can be used to obtain clearance for variety of purposes. Explains copyright application process clearly and succinctly. All video and filmmakers and photographers expecting to make products for the commercial marketplace should read this book. It also serves as an excellent reference so after it has been read can (and should) be kept amongst one's references.

This book gets constant use in my library. As a documentary film maker and owner of a production company, Donaldson's sound advice gives us security knowing that we have completed the proper steps to secure our rights and the rights for "borrowed" film clips used within our documentaries.

It is written in clear everyday language so no need to fear the legal-ease. Clearance and Copyright is an invaluable resource for production companies and film makers alike.

If you are serious about making films and in particular documentaries, this is a great book and valuable resource. I can't count the number of times I've consulted it.

It clears up a great deal of the myths surrounding 'fair use' and 'pubic domain'. Many filmmakers wrongly consider a wide variety of things as 'fair use' or 'public domain' and would be well advised to read this book before rolling a frame of film or video on anything bigger than a home movie.

It covers privacy rights, music rights (yes, you must pay/clear ALL music that you use except under the most rarest of circumstances. Even a couple of notes from a popular song could result in an expensive injunction against your film.), clearances and issues related to copyright.

The 20 buck you'll spend on this book will save you thousands in legal fees down the road when it comes time to actually show your film outside of your house, be it a film festival, TV distribution, or theatrically. The mistakes you avoid could well mean the difference between acquiring E&O insurance and having your film sit on the shelf due to clearance problems.

The writing is simple and straight forward and is an easy read for those who might shy away from books on legal issues. While not as in-depth as a Westlaw book or other scholarly legal tome, it provides relevant citations to important cases. It assumes the reader is intelligent but not trained in law.

Clearance and Copyright is a clear language guide to copyright issues as they affect filmmakers and to how to clear copyrighted work so that you can use them in your film. It has sections on clearing the script, any music that can be heard in you film, clips from other movies, sculptures etc which may appear in the background and just about any issue that could come up. At the end of each section Donaldson includes sample contracts which might be used to clear that particular item.

Overall this was a good introduction to copyright and how to clear copyrighted materials for independent filmakers. It was easy to understand, practical and helpfull. ..except for the glaring error that I noticed and presumably others that I didn't:

I read the 2nd edition released in 2003. In a discussion on what is in the public domain (in my book this was on page 46) Donaldson states, "Very old works for which the copyright has expired are in the public domain. How old? Take the current year and subtract 75." I am certain that this is false. In 1998 the Sony Bono Copyright Extension Act leangthened all copyrights by 20 years. So really work made before 1998-75 years (1923) are in public domain until 2018 at which point works made 95 years before the current year will be in public domain. I am not an expert on copyright law and I noticed this error which makes me wonder what errors I didn't notice. I am assuming that this error is a throwover from the first edition that nobody caught. That doesn't keep Disney from sueing you if you rerelease Mickey Mouse's Steamboat Willie (published in 1928 and so according to Donaldson free for the taking today in 2004).

I don't recommend this book, only because of the glaring inaccuracy that I found. If you have to double check information then you are wasting your time. What this book is good for is a clear language book to get you thinking about the issues. You will be thinking about the issues, but you may also be mislead about the details. And as Copyright and Clearance makes clear you need to be very picky with clearance issues.

This book gives a short history of copyright, the reasonings behind it, its manifestation, implementation, and enforcement throughout the last 500 years with emphasis on the English-speaking world; i.e. England and now the US. It is written in a style accessible to those without legal training, and serves as a good introduction to this aspect of intellectual property. The book provides many useful pieces of information such as:
1. The differences between patents, copyrights, and trademarks.
2. How someone can copyright something.
3. How the extent of enforcibility of copyright laws change from nation to nation.
4. A brief history of the laws and court cases that have impacted and defined the evolution of copyright laws within the US.
5. How different industries and industry groups have dealt with and tried to change copyright laws.

In all, this book is a good read. The text is somewhat dry, though not difficult to understand. The style is somewhere between a textbook, an editorial, a history book, and an opinion piece. The book also provides a lot of handy references.

If you want to know what it's all about - just what it is that writers, publishers, composers, musicians, sculptors and photographers own - and what use you can make of their work, this is a great place to start.

A lucid survey of the history, and logic of the law of copyright, Samuels' well laid out, and copiously illustrated book is a useful guide for editors, writers, agents, websters, napsters, law students, and even law professors.

The numerous side bars and photos provide stories that illuminate the logic of copyright law. A subject which is in danger of being throttled by technical detail (the Copyright Act is must reading for insomniacs) is made plain here. It's a great introduction and a helpful wrap up for those who know the ropes, but have gotten tangled in the details.

Unlike many books on legal issues that are important to non-lawyers, this book strikes a very readable balance between providing useful advice and being something you actually enjoy reading. I would rate this a "must read" for anybody dealing with commercialization of art, photography, writing, data ...

The historic perspective is invaluable for understanding copyrights, and Samuels does a superb job of showing how US law has evolved to meet challenges of evolving technologies and markets.

I look forward to a second edition in a few years as the WWW saga unfolds.

"The Illustrated Story of Copyright" may be the most important book I read this year. It traces history back to duplicating the printed word, and covers presses, copiers, the Internet, and computers. Also covered is Fair Use and Patents. The book is written so that non-professionals and non-students can understand it, yet I believe that it would be an asset to any attorney's office or to any law curriculum.

Others who will enjoy this book are the Mac/Apple fans. "Mac people" are a clan of their own, and those I've met will collect anything with substantial Mac information. The condensed history of how Mac came to be is a worthy addition to a Macintosh library.

Furthermore, "The Illustrated Story of Copyright" should be required reading for all musicians, all VCR owners, all computer owners, all freelancers... the list is endless. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it, but wish I'd known about it sooner. I doubt that I'll recommend another book to as wide a range of people.

(this book was recommended to me ... then purchased from my amazon.com wishlist.)

It doesn't provide details on how to value intangibles. It promotes a stock approach for intangible asset measuring but lacks the comprehensiveness of methodologies that use a flow approach. I didn't find this much help in my line of work as a business manager for a multinational organisation. I needed more practical examples and found the arguments weak and unsubstantiated. There seemed to be a lack in practical application and his arguments seemed not to be tested.

This book changes the rules. Academic Press has long been regarded as the world's leading Academic Publisher and now I know why. This book is a masterpiece. It proves that there is a new way of managing value that is completely different from the old. It is a well thought-out and researched book with good practical examples. In my senior executive roles at various multinational corporations I have needed to implement numerous methods from knowledge management, to intellectual capital management, and knowledge capital. I see intangible management as the upgrade to those techniques. I am now applying IM into the organization I work for. I was particularly impressed by the worked through examples in the book which guided me step by step through the process of how various branches of intangible management theory could be practically applied. It's a book filled with new ideas, innovation, and out-of-box thinking. After researching intangible management on the net, I found that this book was acknowledged by the Association of American Publishers in their 2002 Outstanding Professional and Scholarly Titles Award. The book received an honorable mention as a work of exemplary scholarship as one of the two outstanding business, management & accounting books of 2002. After reading the book, I know why this book received the recognition it did. It's well worth adding to your library.

One of the Most Important Management breakthroughs in the Past 1000 years.

Research by Arthur Andersen of 3500 companies revealed that on the balance sheet the following percentages reflected market value for the representative years: 95% in 1978, 28% in 1998, and 15% in 2002. The International Intangible Management Standards Institute predicts it will be 5% in 2005 based on these trends. This means that conventional accounting reports will fail to capture 95% of the value of business and its operations by 2005, unless there is a change. From an investor perspective, things are not much better. According to the (USA) National Academy of Sciences Task Force on Intellectual Property Management (Sept. 1999), more than 75% of the capitalization of the S&P 500 reflects the value placed on knowledge and other intangible assets.

In the book Intangible Management: Tools for Solving the Accounting and Management Crisis, Ken Stanfield explains the value of intangibles (intangible assets, intangible liabilities, intangible revenues, and intangible expenses) and most importantly how to measure, track and record them on the new financial reports - referred to Intangible Corporate Reports. As our greatest assets today are Knowledge, Relationships, Emotional Intelligence and Time - these value drivers must be measured and managed.

This book needs to be the new standard (Bible) for Business Management and Accounting. This book should be essential reading in every School and University as learning is the only true sustainable competitive advantage we have, and this knowledge needs to be known.

The greatest thing I learnt from this book is that soft intangibles (decisions, tacit knowledge, relationships, emotions, trust, etc) actually create financial performance (sales, expenses, etc). This notion fundamentally reverses the concepts that traditional management is based upon.

Instead of focussing on the traditional short-term "profit at any cost" mentality, Intangible Management take a sustainable viewpoint and explores how managers can manage a completely new set of value drivers in order to create a workplace where people want to work, and customers want to buy.

Sustainability, social responsibility and ethical behavior are have long been missing from traditional management theory. With Intangible Management, these issues are now back on center stage - where they belong.

This book is an excellent read and a must buy if you are interested in keeping up to date with the latest thinking in management science.

I'm very happy with this casebook. It's well written, generally well edited by some of the most notable IP mavens in the US (there's a good share of international law covered, but since my class glossed over it, so did I).

This book is an excellent text dealing with multiple aspects of American intellectual property law. As a Canadian law student I found its approach of using first principles to introduce readers to the basics of intellectual property law very useful. From the first principles of copywright, trademark and patent law the book proceeds to give an insightful exposition of the developments of each of these areas of law in response to recent developments in the sciences. While some attention is paid to biotechnology in the patent section of the book, most of the work focusses on the impact of developments in intellectual property law as a result of information technology. Not only is this book timely but it also gives a very in depth analysis of these timely issues that I have not come across in other texts on the subject. I have just completed my LL.B at an excellent Canadian Law school. I specialised almost entirely in intellectual property law and found this to be my favourite text. Not just amongst my IP courses but amongst all the courses that it was my pleasure to take. If you are interested in IP and you want an understanding of it based Utilitarian first principles this book is an excellent resourse.

Overall, I thought this book was well-done. You could hardly pick a better team of authors to write as experts in intellectual property. That being said, it goes without saying that this book is excellent in its coverage of applicable legal issues. The authors also seem to be aware of student's concern over the production of edition after edition, and they take the time in the introductory to specify why this new version is necessary.

First, as to Copyright Law and Trade Secrets, it presents both relatively directly and in an understandable manner. It is cleanly-edited as well.

On the con side, there are more questions asked than answered in the Notes & Comments section after each case, which is sometimes frustrating (but seems to be a trend in these books). Some of the case edits also omit things that I thought shouldn't have been omitted (for instance, in Harper & Row the language always-quoted on "taking the heart of a work" in the third fair use factor was omitted). There are also some cases omitted that I would have included, but that's likely always true in textbooks.

As to the Trademark, Patent, Antitrust, Software, and Introductory materials, my comments above still apply generally. The book is generally well-organized and progresses in an orderly, logical manner. I have no complaints whatsoever about the accuracy of the substance of the book. The cases are cleanly-edited down to the most important material. Generally, I have no complaints with the clarity of the writing or its arrangement.

The drawbacks in the other sections of the book are that there are pieces of information scattered about in comments and questions or notes sections that would be more helpful if universally included. For example, discussion of doctor's liability when using patented devices occurs a few times in different chapters, but the information that appears in each only give a "big picture" if combined together (even then, this is assuming students remember the prior mentions and that the professor assigned all such sections for the class). The puzzle pieces are entirely consistent - it would just be more helpful if they were presented in-full both times or if it was only mentioned once (together in the same area, such as under contributory infringement). Among other examples, this occurs for specific international issues, after-arising technology, and rarely for channeling of protection between different IP modes (copyright, patent, trademark, trade secrets, etc.).

In the vast majority of cases, the book is also very clear in how it presents blackletter law. Occassionally, however, you're left wondering what the answer is to a particular nuanced question asked that it seems like the authors intended to answer. 99% of the time, the authors list the question ("can you be liable for...?") and then, after citing a case that addresses it, give the answer in a parenthetical (X v. Y, 123 F.3d. 88 (3d Cir. 2004)(no)"). But there are definitively instances where a nuanced legal point is left partially unexplained, or the reader isn't given an answer that current caselaw provides.

Let me reiterate that this book is an excellent one. Its shortcomings are few, and generally will be easily addressed by class lectures and/or students asking questions of their professor. And of course, no one book could answer every nuanced question of IP law; the authors have done a commendable job of covering the most essential, and not leaving students hanging. In summary, the book is quite good and I would certainly use it in teaching IP courses. The few errors that exist, however, I hope the authors will address in their ongoing efforts at producing this excellent textbook.

The authors are luminaries of Boalt, UC Berkeley. The book is for students, and therefore concentrates on precedents. For European lawyers, better versed in commentaries and systematic works, this always is a problem. As such the work is the best, talking of high tech and intellectual property law. Do not forget "Software and Internet Law" by the same authors + Pam Samuelson.
In Europe the paramoutn work is The Modern Law of Copyright and Designs I-III by Mr. Justice Laddie et al. (£ 500 is a stiff price). In German there is Schricker, in French nothing really comparable.

Mr. Franklin's book provides a wonderful guide to Trademark law that is appropriate for attorneys, students, and businesses alike. As an attorney, I found the book insightful. As a teacher, I found the tone of the book appropriate for my students. It is easy to read, straightforward, and enlightening. I recommend this book to any business owner who is seeking to learn more about Trademark law and protect their brand.

This book could be useful to the right reader. The emphasis is legal/trademark. It's a mini-text heavy on tradmark basics, definitions and court decisions. Franklin provides guidance on topics like trademark process and the differences between a copyright, trademark, etc.. Ir addresses the legal aspects of how to keep your trademark from becoming a generic word as was the fate of Xerox (we all should have such problems.) The book would probably be a good intro/reference for law students or paralegals but as a marketing mgr for a small company it wasn't what I was looking for.

Mr. Franklin's book is an essential resource for every lawyer and business executive. Mr. Franklin attempts to use every day language to describe the complex legal issues involved in protecting a busdiness's trademark and succeeds masterfully. The book is clear, concise and comprehensive. If your business has trademark or trade name worth protecting, you need to read this book.

Written by private practice lawyer Talcott J. Franklin, Protecting The Brand is a concise, no-frills, instructional guide to promoting, maintaining, protecting, and utilizing trademarks while insuring and safeguarding that brand name and its consequent recognition value in the highly competitive market place. Individual chapters cogently address the general use of brands, brand strategy, trademark enforcement, brand standards, risks and benefits of licensing, and more. Protecting The Brand is very highly recommended reading -- especially for anyone with an intellectual or product-based concept to protect.

This book is so cool. No one beyond a htird grader or ... should do alot on line before learning a little more of thier online rights and responsibilities. There is just so much out there and what some dont get (read the book, its great and update to most current laws and accepted net protocol), is that the user has part of the responsibility to what they do online. I think the book is really necceasry reading for anyone worried or who have concerns about thier online rights, and its only half the story, but read it and then maybe can have some concept to what any of this means....

At the end of the last decade we survive to an exhuberant prognostisism of law. The end of the world is coming soon and people like the autors of this book must be careful of their peace. Computers are not the way to make an excelente production around the world. I think that in places like Egypt, or Nairobi, or Chiapas, people don't understand the way of doing businnes around the world with a computer. Instead of that I really think that my friend Bill GGGGGG its making a good efort for estimulate all your instinct for consume and comercialization ha ha ha see you all my little readers in the next decade, the decade of computers. your friend NOE

I have searched high and low for a book outlining the laws for the Interent and E-commerce. Apparently not much is available yet, but this book was great. It was informative and insightful regarding the laws for business in genereal and E-commerce in particular. I have recommended this to several friends who are thinking of starting a business on the Internet. I have also recommended it to the professor who teaches business law at the MBA program that I am enrolled in. I've been trying to get them to offer an E-Law course, but until then this book will be more than enough.

This is as good a Patent Law textbook as can be assembled. The case selection and arrangement is excellent, and the cases are sharply edited. I only wish the next edition had come out in time for it to be assigned for my class - I'm told it will be out in a month.

The previous review suggests that the casebook is not a good choice for someone wanting to focus in greater detail on patent prosecution or litigation. I imagine this is intended for use in a survey course, and think it's fine. It certainly does not teach the MPEP or prepare someone to take the patent bar, but that is not its purpose; I used the PatBar course for that. As far as patent litigation, I won't a course in that until next semester, but I believe this casebook did a nice job in surveying the important principles in litigation.

This casebook contained all the usual cases that are typical in a patent law/intellectual property casebook. Unfortunately, there should have been more content which described the patent process as well as the patent prosecution procedure in order to allow the reader to fit the case law into the appropriate scheme of things.

This is a great entry-level book. It's well-written with easy-to-understand case studies and pertinent examples.

Published in a sprial bound format, Complete Copyright: An Everyday Guide For Librarians by Carrie Russell is a project of the "Office for Information Technology Project" of the American Library Association and is enhanced with contributions by thirteen specialists and experts in copyright law and its relevance to academic and public library systems. Color illustrations, highlighted passages, a dash of humor and situational questions enhance the basic study of American copyright law, making the information easier to assimilate. Covering modern-day legal issues and coverage especially as apply to libraries ranging from the concept of "fair use" to the "first sale doctrine" that allows the resale or donation of lawfully purchased or acquired books, etc. to issues specific to copyright in the digital age, and much more, Complete Copyright carries the highest recommendation for libraries and librarians everywhere in the rapidly changing twenty-first century.

Copyrights used to be so simple. The U.S. Constitution says: to promote the progrss of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors exclusive right to their respective writing and discoveries. From there it gets a lot messier. For instance a book copyrighted and published in 1930 was under copyright for 28 years. If the copyright was not renewed it expired in 1958. But if in 1958 the copyright was renewed for an additional 28 years, or 1986. But the law was changed so that if the copyright was not renewed the book is in the public domain. But if it was renewed the copyright now goes until 70 years after the death of the author, or maybe 95 years after it was first published, or possibly 120 years after it was created.

And if you think that is a mess, wait until you get into digital, like the web. If a book is still in copyright in the US, but available on an Australian web site, can you download it, can you print a copy, can you sell it?

This book clearly, and using an interesting format explains these and lots more points.