Copyright: What Everyone Needs to Know®

by Neil Weinstock Netanel

Copyright law was once an esoteric backwater, the special province of professional authors, publishers, and media companies. This is no longer the case. In the age of social media and cloud storage, we have become a copying and sharing culture. Much of our everyday communication, work, and entertainment now directly involves copyright law.

Copyright law and policy are ferociously contested. Record labels, movie studios, book publishers, newspapers, and many authors rage that those who share music, video, text, and images over the Internet are "stealing" their property. By contrast, copyright industry critics celebrate digital technology's potential to make the universe of movies, music, books, and art accessible anytime and anywhere - and to empower individuals the world over to express themselves by sharing and remixing those works. These critics argue that excessive copyright enforcement threatens that promise and stifles creativity.

In What Everyone Needs to Know® , Neil Netanel explains the concepts needed to understand the heated debates about copyright law and policy. He identifies the combatants, unpacks their arguments, and illuminates what is at stake in the debates over copyright's present and future.

Genres: Nonfiction

248 pages, Paperback

Published August 10, 2018

Reviews

[Flesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit that I learned a lot about copyright the United States from this book. However, I am most interested in fair use from the perspective of a school librarian. This book covered fair use sparingly. So while it was interesting and covered a lot of information that I did not know, I am still on the search for the information that will make my library a better more ethical place to learn.

[Amy Soma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is organized by common (and not so common)questions about copyright and goes far beyond typical coverage on copyright. If you are looking for an in depth, ready-reference book to help you navigate the nuances of copyright law, start here. Then wait patiently for the 4th edition of Kenneth Crews book Copyright Law for Librarians and Educators.

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

What everyone needs to know. I agree!

Copyright: What Everyone Needs to Know provides an FAQ-style approach to learning about copyright law of the United States (and some perspective on international copyright).

It is easy to read and provides some basics to begin with before moving into more detail and concerns/controversies, as well as thoughts on reform.

Highly recommend!

[Jessica]

I’ve never had a book make me both drowsy and incredibly angry simultaneously.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last chapter ("The Next Great Copyight Act" How Might Copyright Be Reformed?) is definitely the most interesting, but the whole book isn't a bad primer on modern copyright issues.