Copyright Law

Most of federal copyright law is found in the Copyright Act of 1976 and its various amendments:

• Slip Law:Pub. L. 94-533
• Session Law:  90 Stat. 2541
• Available from HeinOnline
• Codified in Title  17 of the U.S. Code.

In addition to Bloomberg Law, Lexis and Westlaw, the copyright laws can be found at:

• Cornell's Legal Information Institute
• U.S. Copyright Office

Amendments and additions to the 1976 Act include:

• The Digital Millinium Copyright Act of 1998
• The Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004

Before you begin searching for legislative history on your own, there are a couple databases you should check to see if someone has already compiled one.  Some of these resources include:

Generally, copyright regulations are found in Title 37, Parts 201 - 270 of the Code of Federal Regulations.  In addition to Bloomberg Law, Lexis and Westlaw, copyright regulations can be found on:

• The U.S. Copyright Office's website
• GPO's FdSys database

Notices from the Federal Register dealing with copyright law can be found in the following places:

• The U.S. Copyright Office's website
• GPO's FedSys database
• Regulations.gov

Copyright opinions are grouped together and available through several online databases, including:

• Bloomberg Law Copyright practice center
  Copyright opinions can be searched by Court, and opinions can be found in several IP and copyright publications including BNA's Patent, Trademark and Copyright Journal. 
• BNA United States Patent Quarterly
  Current copyright-related opinions organized by topic 
• CCH Copyright Law Reporter
  This service combines laws, regulations, news, and copyright-related opinions.