Background: The evolution in digital technologies has had an enormous impact on traditional copyright notions. Works in digital form have uniform characteristics and these works can be copied, distributed and stored with ease. Objectives: The focus of this article was how to attain a balance between the need to promote access to works and…

The author argues economic analysis needs to be explicitly included in an overall theory of law and technology. Differing approaches to the economics of information are considered, and the copyright policy environment of the 1990s is taken as an example of how the lack of substantive economic analysis resulted in poor policy-making.

The recent strike of the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) raised an important issue for academic writers. Although their compensation and job security differ, WGA members and academics both are creators of knowledge and culture. Among academic authors, discussion about dissemination of and access to scholarly works and lamentation about…

One of the most important topics for today's information technology professional is the study of legal and regulatory issues as they relate to privacy and security of personal and business data and identification. This manuscript describes the topics and approach taken by the instructors that focuses on independent research of source documents and…

Advancement of knowledge and progress in technology drives the need for protecting inventions, new ideas, writings, music, and other media. While abundant, intellectual property and copyright issues are not simple, and the United States has adopted multiple rules via treaties worldwide. Academia has been fortunate with regard to the freedom…

When Lars Ulrich, drummer for the rock group Metallica, testified before Congress about his group's lawsuit against Napster in 2000, many people who followed copyright issues in the music industry were not surprised (Ulrich, 2000). Ever since downloading audio files became as easy as clicking a few buttons on a personal computer, charges of…

Whether by choice or necessity, colleges and universities are in competition with each other for the burgeoning web-based course market. Spurred by the growth of the for-profits such as the University of Phoenix, institutions have reasons, both practical and philosophical,"...to secure a position in ownership and control of faculty-produced…

This research examines the copyright guidelines and policies from a purposeful sample of colleges and universities in the United States. It is a descriptive, qualitative study of 39 copyright and intellectual property policies and guidelines from these institutions. Compliance to the Teach Act of 2002 was the initial feature that this research…

Reviews copyright issues, fair use guidelines, and applicable principles of copyright and ownership, the rights of copyright holders, and the conditions under which copyrighted material can be used by others. Notes possible affects of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act and intellectual property issues on dental schools. (Author/DB)

In the United States, copyright owners retain exclusive rights to their creative works. They alone have the legal right to reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, or publicly display their works or to construct derivative works. The recently enacted Digital Millennium Copyright Act has created several complex questions related to distance…

As required under section 104 of Public Law No. 105-304, this Report evaluates the effects of title I of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 and the development of electronic commerce and associated technology on the operation of sections 109 and 117 of title 17, U.S.C. It also evaluates the relationship between existing and…

The pace and the magnitude of the changes taking place in our society today are threatening to skew the balance between copyright holders and information users. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act has the potential to undermine the public right to access information and to share information with others. (JM)

Discusses technological change and intellectual property as it affects libraries and access to electronic information. Topics include the balance between copyright law and fair use; the Copyright Term Extension Act; the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; product versus service; databases with public access; and similarities with Napster. (LRW)

Today, federal laws often seem like an alphabet soup with acronyms like CIPA (Children's Internet Protection Act), CTEA (Copyright Term Extension Act), ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), YMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), and NC LB (No Child Left Behind). These letters stand for federal…