The premier source of electronic copyright protection is the Publication Rights Clearinghouse from NWU (National Writers Union). This tracks the Internet, CD-ROMs and other electronic media looking for copyrighted work which is registered with PRC, and enforces copyright protection and payment for unauthorized republication. Join PRC! The NWU web page is at http://www.nwu.org/nwu/ (If you are a freelancer who is not a member of NWU, you are missing the boat.)
Electronic Frontier Foundation has extensive info about intellectual property, a history of copyright debates, and has many related links. http://www.eff.org/pub/Intellectual_property.
Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. is an "old" organization which protects and governs corporate and library photocopying from registered publications. Copyright owners list their payment requirements for copying, and CCC collects your money for you. One magazine I edited is listed with CCC. Very convenient, and effective. http://www.copyright.com
For legal references and info, contact the WWW Multimedia Law Site. Then you can stop posting old, boring questions on newsgroups, because you can find accurate and timely info here! This is a useful site for direct references and links to many legal publications, legal search engines, federal and state info, and Web sites.
Again, let me emphasize that, for freelance writers, poets, cartoonists, illustrators - there is no better organization to join than NWU. We are the largest organization of such folks (approx. now 5,000+ members), and the most aggressive protective-of-our-ownership-and-monetary-rights organizations ever. It is a true "union," offering many benefits not available otherwise. Check out the Web site.
The United States Copyright Office at the Library of Congress Web site is at http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/
Title 37 Code of Federal Regulations
http://www.law.cornell.edu/copyright/regulations/regs.overview.html
SUL Copyright & Fair Use
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/
DISCLAIMER This paper is intended to provide a practical summary of the law.
It is not intended to provide legal advice for specific cases.
