Reviewed By: Lisa Allen

Copyright Crash Course

http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/cprtindx.htm

Copyright affects everyone in ways that we could not even imagine a few years ago. If not for advances in electronic communications, particularly the World Wide Web, we may have been able to get by with nothing more than a basic statement about fair use. Today we need an understanding of copyright that goes beyond mere recitation of the statutes or even reference to specific guidelines. The Copyright Crash Course, presented by the University of Texas, offers information on copyright for owners of copyrighted materials as well as for those who would like to use the materials. Fair Use is defined and the criteria for using it. Copyright requirements differ for different media and these distinctions are presented. For additional information offsite links are provided to offer assistance in a wide range of subjects, such as a “Guide for Citing Electronic Information” and an excerpt from “The Multimedia Law Handbook.” Links are also provided to locations such as the Legal Information Institute at the Cornell Law School, which offer comprehensive legal information concerning copyright. The site design is simple and clean. A band of maroon and orange is across the top of every page, green main headings, and orange subheadings with black text on a white background create a sense of continuity from one page to the next. Links at the top or side of pages are typically maroon and links within the text are blue. The simple design makes this site very readable and easy to navigate.