Massachusetts law about copyright

Laws, regulations, cases, and web sources on copyright law.

If you are unable to find the information you are looking for, or if you have a specific question, please contact our law librarians for assistance.

Best bet

U.S. Copyright Office
The best website for copyright information. It includes FAQs, links to legislation (current and proposed), regulations, information on how to for a copyright, international copyright sites, information about searching for copyrighted material, fees, and much more. To get started, see Copyright basics.

Federal laws

The Copyright & Patent Clause, Art. I, s.8, cl.8 of the U.S. Constitution
Empowers the U.S. Congress "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020
Establishing the Copyright Claims Board to resolve copyright disputes involving claims seeking damages of up to $30,000 and is designed to be less expensive and faster than bringing a case in a federal court.

17 U.S. Code
U.S. copyright laws and related transitional and related statutory and international provisions.

Major public laws incorporated in the U.S. Code Title 17:

• Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998
• Summary of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 from the U.S. Copyright Office
• Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998

Federal regulations

37 CFR Parts 201-390 (Copyright regulations)
Also known as Circular 96, they are published in the Code of Federal Regulations.

Treaties and other international agreements of which the United States is a party

International issues: treaties, U.S. Copyright Office 
The Office of Policy and International Affairs lists the international copyright treaties.

Forms

U.S. Copyright Office forms 

Information circulars and factsheets from the U.S. Copyright Office.

Web sources

Copyright in general

• Copyright Claims Board
  The Copyright Claims Board is available to resolve copyright disputes of a relatively low economic value as an efficient, less expensive alternative to federal court by a virtual hearing by three experienced attorneys.
• Copyright Clearance Center
  Serving the interests of those who supply content, the CCC is a global rights broker for in- and out-of-print materials. It facilitates getting permission, licensing your own content, registering copyright, etc.
• Copyright renewal database, Stanford University.
  This database makes searchable the copyright renewal records received by the U.S. Copyright Office between 1950 and 1992 for books published in the U.S. between 1923 and 1963. Note that the database includes only U.S. Class A (book) renewals.
• Copyright term and the public domain, Cornell University. 
  This chart shows the lifespan of copyright protection by type of work.
• Copyright timeline, Association of Research Libraries (ARL).
  A history of copyright in the United States, this comprehensive timeline begins with the 18th century and includes references to major changes in copyright law made by Congress, the courts, and other organizations.
• Lumen, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.
  "The Lumen database collects and analyzes legal complaints and requests for removal of online materials, helping Internet users to know their rights and understand the law. These data enable us to study the prevalence of legal threats and let Internet users see the source of content removals." See also Copyright subtopics.
• Non-fungible tokens and intellectual property: A report to Congress, U.S. Copyright Office, March 2024.
• Search copyright records, U.S. Copyright Office.
  Search online for works registered and documents recorded by the U.S. Copyright Office since January 1, 1978. Includes tips on how to find records of works registered prior to January 1, 1978.
• Sound Exchange
  It is the sole organization designated by the U.S. Congress to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for sound recordings.

Artificial intelligence

• Copyright and artificial intelligence, U.S. Copyright Office. 
  Copyright guidance on artificial intelligence including the Zarya of the Dawn registration decision.
• Thaler v. Perlmutter, U.S. Court of Appeals, DC Circuit, March 11, 2025.
  AI generated art created without human guidance cannot be copyrighted.
• U.S. Patent Office AI guidance, including:
  • Director guidance on party and practitioner misconduct related to use of AI
  • Inventorship guidance for AI-assisted inventions
• Why The New York Times might win its copyright lawsuit against OpenAI by Timothy B. Lee and James Grimmelmann.
  Covers the history of copyright in the digital world and provides reasonings for each possible outcome of the lawsuit New York Times Company v. Microsoft Corporation, OpenAI, Inc., et al. Order and Decision, April 2025 to allow case to go forward.  

Fair use

• Fair use, Columbia University Libraries/Information Services Copyright Advisory Office.
  A helpful tool (with a link to the Fair use checklist) used to determine whether actions are within the limits of fair use under U.S. copyright law (17 USC s.107).
• Why Is parody considered fair use but satire isn’t?, Copyright Alliance. 
  Explains Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Also, Four factors to consider.

Cases

• List of United States Supreme Court copyright case law
• Major copyright decisions, world-wide, Wikipedia.
  Major world-wide copyright cases are listed by country and linked on this webpage.
• Substantial similarity, University of Michigan Research Guide.
  Illustrates the "substantial similarity" doctrine from U.S. copyright law, using a set of case summaries and includes a Glossary.

Print sources

The copyright handbook by Stephen Fishman, 15^th ed., Nolo Press, 2024. (eBook available with library card)

Copyright law in a nutshell by Mary LaFrance, West, 2022.

Fandom and the law: Fan fiction, art, film, & cosplay by Marc H. Greenberg, ABA, 2021.

Getting permission, Nolo Press, 2022. (eBook available with library card)

Intellectual property litigation, American Bar Association, quarterly, 2009-date. (eBooks available at link with library card).

Intellectual property practice, MCLE, 2020.
Chapter 7.

Nimmer on copyright: A treatise on the law of literary, musical and artistic property, and the protection of ideas by Melville B. Nimmer, M. Bender, 1978-date. (eBook available with library card)

Patent, copyright and trademark, Nolo Press, 2022. (2024 eBook available with library card)

Practical application of the fair use doctrine, MCLE, 2024.

Protecting and enforcing copyright by Lisa M. Tittemore and Joel R. Leeman, MCLE, 2014.

The public domain, Nolo Press, 2020. (2023 eBook available with library card)

Last updated:	April 16, 2025