Copyright Resources: Organizations
Library Organizations
- American Association of Law Libraries: AALL is the trade association for
law libraries in universities, law firms, businesses and municipalities. Its Copyright Committee sponsors and maintains
a website that informs members about copyright issues, and works with the organization's Washington
Affairs Office in advocating for fair and equitable copyright laws and information policy.
- American Library Association: ALA is the largest library representative organization
in the country. Its Office for Information Technology Policy monitors
copyright developments on its members' behalf. ALA also considers copyright to be an important advocacy issue.
- Association of Research Libraries: ARL is the principal trade association for
North America's leading research libraries in universities and other nationally significant institutions. The ARL
staff closely follows copyright law changes and
advocate on behalf of their members
- Special Libraries Association: SLA is an international association that represents
the interests of information professionals and specialty libraries in the corporate, academic and government worlds.
- Library Copyright Alliance: Sponsored by the
four library associations listed above, plus the Medical Library Association, the LCA addresses issues that affect
libraries and their patrons.
Governmental & Non-Governmental Organizations
- United States Copyright Office: The United States Copyright Office advises
and assists Congress on copyright law and other intellectual property issues, and assists in the drafting of copyright
legislation.
- World Intellectual Property Organization: WIPO is an organization that drafts
and enacts standardized, international agreements on the protection of creative works.
Entertainment & Media Organizations
Computer & Technology Organizations
Licensing, Rights & Clearances
- American Society of Composers, Authors
& Publishers: ASCAP is one of two major American organizations
that collects music performance royalties on behalf of recording artists,
songwriters and performers.
- Broadcast Music, Inc.: Like ASCAP,
BMI is a performing rights organization that collects music performance
royalties on behalf of recording artists, songwriters and performers.
- Copyright Clearance Center: CCC
licenses reproduction rights for electronic and print content, and collects
license fees for use of that content.
- iCopyright: iCopyright is
an instant clearing service for electronic content.
- Creative Commons:
Creative Commons is a project that helps artists and authors protect
their works with alternatives to licensing and copyright law.
- Harry Fox Agency: Harry Fox
collects licensing royalties on behalf of music publishers.
- Society of European Stage Authors and Composers:
Although it is smaller than both ASCAP or BMI, SESAC is a third music performing
rights organization in the United States.
Policy Organizations & Think Tanks
- Berkeley Center for Law & Technology: Founded in
1995, the Berkeley Center is the oldest of the academic law and technology centers that are affiliated with American
law schools. Its mission is to "foster beneficial and ethical advancement of technology by promoting the understanding
and guiding the development of intellectual property ... as they intersect with business, science and technology."
- Berkman Center for Internet & Society: Affiliated with Harvard
Law School, the Berkman Center is a research center that studies the Internet and the laws that apply to it.
- Center for Internet and
Society: Stanford Law School's public interest technology law
and policy program, headed by Lawrence Lessig.
- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse: A joint project of the Electronic
Frontier Foundation, Harvard, Stanford and others, the goal of the Clearinghouse is to help users and website owners
understand legal issues that affect and govern online activities. The Clearinghouse has been active in trying to stop
businesses from using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's automatic takedown provisions in a way that restricts
free speech.
- DigitalConsumer.org:
A coalition that seeks to "restore the balance between citizens
and copyright holders" by strengthening fair use.
- Digital Future Coalition: DFC is a wide coalition of educational, business and
consumer groups that seeks to balance intellectual property rights and public policy
- Electronic Frontier Foundation: EFF is a electronic civil liberties organization
that has litigated many copyright cases in federal court, including MGM
v. Groksterand Online
Policy Group v. Diebold.
- Information Society Project: Affiliated with Yale Law School, the
Project reports on and studies issues in telecommunications, Internet and intellectual property law.
- International Intellectual Property Association: Affiliated with seven entertainment
industry associations, IIPA advocates for enforcement of copyright restrictions worldwide.