“Over the past forty years, Congress has extended the term of existing copyrights 11 times, thereby stopping the flow of creative material into the public domain. The biggest supporters of these laws are individuals and corporations with extremely valuable copyrights that are about to expire (for example, Mickey Mouse). The biggest effect of these laws is to make unavailable an extraordinary range of creative material for next generation’s creators. Just as Walt Disney used the works of the Brothers Grimm to produce some of the best of the Disney stories, so too should the next Walt Disney be able to build upon the stories told by Disney.”

“Creative Commons is a non-profit founded on the notion that some people do not want to exercise all of the intellectual property rights the law affords them. For many reasons, people might like to share their work (and the power to reuse, modify, and distribute their work) with the public on generous terms. Creative Commons intends to help people express this preference for sharing.”

“StarvingArtistsLaw.com is the launch pad for artists and writers looking for self help legal information.”

“In this modern world, branding is everything. But this week alone saw the end of Cellnet, Compaq and Line One. What becomes of the brands that no-one wants any more? BBC News Online’s Chris Horrie investigates.”

Including: Who Shall Own The Copyright In A Book Publishing Agreement?; The Independent Subcontractor Agreement; The Permission Form; Giving Up Your Rights; The Need For Vision; Fair Use; The Need For A Written Web Design Contract; The Transfer of Rights in a Web Design Contract; Work Made for Hire Agreements; Playboy and the Work Made for Hire Agreement; Derivative Rights and Web Sites; Dignity For Designers; The California Long-Arm Statute and many more…

“Why Thomas Jefferson would love Napster: The dawn of the 21st century has illuminated an array of conflicts over the regulation of information in America: Napster, DVD-hacking, the right to create a parody, the rewards for freelance writers in a digital world, and the future of the Microsoft monopoly. Each of these cases rests on several distinct pedestals of ideals. As a nation, we would like to reward enterprise and creativity, allow free and open access to ideas, and benefit from a rich trove of music, literature, journalism, and art. Often these goals conflict, and courts must choose among them.”

“Center for the Public Domain is a non-profit foundation that supports the growth of a healthy and robust public domain by establishing programs, grants, and partnerships in the areas of academic research, medicine, law, education, media, technology, and the arts.”

“Website copying may be widespread, but there are some simple measures you can take to protect your copyright.” Oh, but anyway: Stealing things is OK. Our original work.

“His patent covers computer operations that represent close and distant thoughts. It means he’ll receive royalties for any process that can be represented by flow charts linking chunks of related information together.” What?!

“Content owners need to be able to make their content available to their customers on the Internet while generating revenue and protecting their intellectual property. iCopyright.com offers content owners a way to sell their content as quickly as their customers need it, in Internet time. Our mission is to develop solutions that dissolve the barriers between content owners and content users, even as the Internet continues to change the media landscape.”

The patents.com ‘Intellectual Property Law Web Server’ contains a large amount of intellectual property information. But hey! This is not legal advice! They’ll keep reminding you of that because they are lawyers, of course.

Webchick: “I could cite endless examples of quotes out of context, misleading characterization of other’s work, novel ideas that aren’t attributed to the originator, and digital creations that are copied, usurped or bastardized by others under the flimsy umbrella excuse of ‘derivative work.’ The real kick in the head are that these infractions are committed by people who should know better, often by people who want the same kind of respect for themselves, their company, or their own work.”

“In business, imitation is usually considered the simplest form of theft, not the sincerest form of flattery. But on the Internet, where sites continually borrow graphics, content, and design ideas from each other, imitation may just be good for business — and consumers. From Amazon to eToys, major e-commerce sites are increasingly adopting a strikingly similar layout on their home pages…”

“If, like me, you are a collage artist, then copyright is probably a matter of great concern to you. (If it isn’t, then it should be!) Many artists seem to feel that thinking about legal niceties, like copyright, will inhibit their creative flow. Personally, I think it’s best to understand potential legal issues ahead of time. That way, the artist is able to focus on his/her work without the intrusion of fear of a lawsuit. That’s why it’s imperative to consider copyright issues before beginning a collage which might someday be published.”

We’re talking pretty good coverage here: from prehistory to Rome to the Renaissance to the Jeffersonian, Industrial, Modern and Post-Modern ages.