COPYRIGHT LAW: MUSIC
PRIMARY RESOURCES
Primary resources for copyright law can be found in Lexis Advance, Westlaw, Bloomberg, and at free websites. Westlaw has a general case database for Intellectual Property law, which can be narrowed down to copyright law only. Lexis Advance has a Copyright Law case database, which includes links to cases, administrative regulations, and secondary materials. To look for music specific resources on this case database, try searching for a combination of "music!," "fair use," and "infringement." Below is the link to Lexis Advance, which I recommend for copyright law research.
THE CONSTITUTION
Copyright law begins with the Constitution. Look at Article I, Section 8, Clause 8: "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Rights to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Below is the link to the Senate's website, which provides each clause of the Constitution and a synopsis of what each clause means.
COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1909
This Act preceded the current Copyright Act of 1976. Reading and understanding what this Act covered may be of interest to attorneys who are trying to understand the history of copyright law in the United States. The Copyright Act of 1909 is available for free on copyright.gov, linked below.
THE COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1976
This statute is a primary source to consider when first looking into copyright law. Found under 17 U.S.C. Sections 101 et al., copyright law pertains to many different subjects in addition to music such as paintings, movies, and performances. This statute can be found at a variety of sources such has Lexis Advance, Westlaw, or for free at copyright.gov. For sections specific to music, view sections 102(2) (Subject Matter), 106 (exclusive rights in copyrighted works), 109 (effect of transfer of particular copy or phonorecord), 110 (exemption of certain performances and displays), and 114 (scope of exclusive rights in sound recordings). While there are other sections of the Copyright Act that pertain to music, check out these sections first!
THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is important, especially today because of the availability of music on the internet, phones, and computers. Below is the link to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Look at sections 405.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
ProQuest offers a great complied Legislative History of the Copyright Act of 1976. It includes Debates, the original bills, and Committee Reports. Additionally, Westlaw provides compiled Legislative History of the Copyright Act of 1976. Follow the link below to go directly to the legislative history of the Copyright Act of 1976. Additionally, you can search on ProQuest. To find the legislative history of the Copyright Act of 1976, try searching for "Copyright" and 1976.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Check out Westlaw's Arnold & Porter General Revision of Copyright 1976. Follow the link below to be directed to the complied legislative history. The first thing on the page shows the ten most recent documents (from 1974-1976). The history pertains to the 1976 Act, so if you want information on the 1909 Act, this is not the place to look! If you want to find information specifically about music, try searching for "music!" in the search bar at the top. You need to subscribe to Westlaw to gain access to this source.
UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT OFFICE
The Copyright Office is a separate department in the Library of Congress. The Copyright Office is responsible for administering the Copyright Act of 1976 as well as assisting Congress in copyright issues such as providing legal analysis.
COPYRIGHT REGULATIONS
Copyright regulations provide an important source to understand how the Copyright Act is implemented. Copyright regulations, 37 C.F.R. Section 201 et al., can be found for free on the US Government Publishing Office website and the United States Copyright website or on paid resources such as Lexis Advance and Westlaw. Below is the link copyright regulations found at the US Government Publishing Office from 2015.
FREE RESOURCES
US GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
FDsys Home Page
The FDsys platform is somewhat difficult to maneuver; however, this resource can be very helpful, and it contains a variety of primary sources. The information that FDsys contains is limited. For example, the Congressional Record is from 1994-2016. Additionally, FDsys only has the United States Code from 1994 to present. Visit https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectiontab.action to see the coverage dates for each collection.
When you get to the homepage, there is a "Search" box in the center of the page and to the right a "Browse" box. Clicking on anything in the "Browse" box will link you directly to that collection. Clicking "Advanced Search" next to the "Search" box will bring you to a new screen. The Advanced Search will make your searching efforts easier. For example, if you want to find the Code of Federal Regulations for copyright, first click "Code of Federal Regulations" in the collections box. Then, type in "Copyright Office." This will bring you to another webpage with hundreds of results; however, the first hit will get you to the correct section of the Code of Regulations for copyrights.
COPYRIGHT & FAIR USE
Stanford University Libraries
This is a great source for locating free cases, statutes, regulations, and a blog! Because there is no "search" box, I recommend browsing the site to become familiar with how to use this site. The cases it includes all pertain to copyright and fair use and cover 1834 to present.
The homepage even includes a section on current events in copyright law; this should be helpful for those attorneys who wish to stay up to date on copyright issues, but only want a short summary! Additionally, this website links to great copyright blogs.
JUSTIA
Home Page
This is another free resource that provides access to primary sources. You can also find cases on this website. On the homepage, under "Legal Practice Areas" click Intellectual Property. Here you can search for "copyright" and "music," or you can look at the featured cases and topics in copyright law.