Introduction to Danielle Monnier's Bibliography
Information on international copyright is sparse outside of British and Australian copyrights. The United States' copyright notices basically seem to apply to the entire Internet unless specified on the individual webpage that they are under the jurisdiction of another country's copyright laws. My main search engine was Google because it produced very accurate results compared to Yahoo's search engine, which seemed to want to only give me paralegal advice on copyright. My main search terms on Google were Internet copyright, multimedia copyright, and cyber copyright which eventually produced the eight results I needed for this assignment. As I said before, U.S. Copyright seems to be the foundation for many other countries' copyright laws, but American copyright information was abundant from both personal websites as well as professional and governmental websites.
CONTENT SUMMARY: This webpage is Franklin Pierce Law Center’s research on copyright on the Internet. It documents how and when copyright applies, such as a blanket copyright, to discretions such as fair use. The site covers every topic that falls under copyright such as image linking, page linking, email messages, email lists, forums, and webpage revisions.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Contains a quick and generally thorough explanation of major copyright usage. The site has a brief and well-described table of contents which allows easy navigation through the major sections of the website. Links at the bottom lead to more websites that are more detailed on Internet copyright.
WEAKNESSES: The text is very small and hard to read, but at least it is broken up into paragraphs. The entire site is written inside a table, in which my Mozilla Firebird browser showed the borders of each cell, showing bad cross-platform considerations.
RECOMMENDED USES: This site is useful for a general surface examination of Internet copyright. It can be helpful by pointing to more detailed websites that delve deeper into copyright issues.
CONTENT SUMMARY: This webpage is the official source for copyright information. It details all types of copyright from books to webpages and provides explanation of exactly what copyright is and refers to. Although specific details are not provided on this page for each individual type of copyright, its parent directory (http://www.copyright.gov/circs/) has forms in both text and PDF files for every copyright possibility, including several variations on Internet media such as multimedia, webpages, international copyright, music, compositions, etc.
SPECIAL FEATURES: An extensive table of contents of hyperlinks (bookmarks, actually) outline all the circulars available on various topics of copyright. This particular site deals with explaining copyright and does so very well. The entire site is searchable using either Boolean or standard search terms.
WEAKNESSES: The circulars are broken up by topic, and each topic usually has paragraphs after paragraphs of material to read. These circulars were obviously written for paper print, not the Internet, which is why most circulars come with a PDF alternative.
RECOMMENDED USES: This site is useful to explore one’s copyright options especially since copyright on the Internet is such a novelty compared to published paper-bound copyright.
CONTENT SUMMARY: This webpage details how to inform users of a website that that particular website is copyrighted, and how to decipher others’ copyright notices. In addition, the website also has links to the controversial fair use provision in the Copyright Act and information on the public domain.
SPECIAL FEATURES: The website is cleanly laid out and information is clearly described. Topics are headed by a menu up top which in turn opens new webpages to different aspects of copyright. The site makes use of relatively high-tech languages such as ASPX and some of its content is in PowerPoint format.
WEAKNESSES: The site relies on ASPX, which not many older browsers can support. Also, since some of its content is in PowerPoint format, only people with Office or a PowerPoint viewer can view the website’s files. Also, specific information requires a little digging for, as there is no search function I could find.
RECOMMENDED USES: This site is geared more towards teenagers and children than actually presenting copyright information in a formal manner, like the United States Copyright Office. It can be helpful if one just needs a quick overview about what, how, and where without bothering with minor details.
CONTENT SUMMARY: This webpage details ten major myths about copyright on the Internet. Although a personal webpage, the information is consistent with the United States Copyright Office’s facts. The content is targeted towards copyright on the Internet only and provides a few links to other websites regarding Internet copyright, such as the DMCA’s webpage.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Ten questions are bolded and clearly set off from their answers. A summary of the myths is provided at the end as a sort of “Cliff Notes” approach for those who just skim the article. The website even has a section for correct form of a copyright notice on each webpage, should one need to know how to protect their work.
WEAKNESSES: This website is a personal website, and the layout reflects that. Although its credibility is proven with additional research, that additional research should be used instead of a personal webpage.
RECOMMENDED USES: If one is not sure how to use or interpret a copyright notice on the Internet, or has some other question regarding Internet copyright, and does not wish to decipher page after page of complex language that the government is apt to use, this website would be an excellent primer.
CONTENT SUMMARY: The PDF is actually a summary of the DMCA legislation, but covers enough of the regulation that it is still useful without having to read the complex wordy laws. The PDF describes exactly what material is eligible for DMCA protection, limitations of the statute, integrity of copyright information, solutions and remedies to online copyright infringement, and protection of designs but not the ideas themselves.
SPECIAL FEATURES: The PDF is easy to read, despite a lack of table of contents. Headings are set off by indents and bolded words. Bullets separate individual section information from the big block of text that usually surrounds each heading.
WEAKNESSES: No proper table of contents makes the PDF hard to find exact information without wading through the entire document. The PDF format itself can also pose problems to those who do not have Adobe Acrobat or its Reader installed on the local machine, and the parent website provides no alternative to the PDF form. The content itself can be hard to read at points, almost requiring a lawyer for interpretation.
RECOMMENDED USES: This PDF is almost as wordy as the original legislation, but it is still useful for deciphering the meaning of the DMCA act without needing a lawyer’s interpretation. Its professional appearance obviously targets adults and not those who are merely looking for surface information.
CONTENT SUMMARY: This site is obviously geared for children and attempts to explain copyright at the 5th grade reading level or lower. Unusual words such as “derivative works” and “made for hire” are defined with a glossary that pops up on an additional page. A table of contents precedes the page, as well as a dropdown box, and a link back to the parent site (FA©E).
SPECIAL FEATURES: Each section is color coded and easy to find. Links are clearly delineated and lead to appropriate references. Topics are hyperlinked as bookmarks in both the table of contents up top and a drop-down box in the top frame.
WEAKNESSES: The site’s major weakness is a bad layout. Frames, which are generally rejected as proper website style, are in abundance. The glossary pops up in a badly formatted blank window and is hard to find specific terms. The color scheme is also a bit much, using five colors, whereas a normal professional color scheme would be three colors, maximum.
RECOMMENDED USES: This site is geared for children and explains things at a lower-level reading comprehension. The information is correct and thorough, albeit very simplistic. This site is useful for younger children to learn about protecting their own work and learning to respect others’ copyright notices which will help them later in life.
CONTENT SUMMARY: This site is plain and simple with four main headings: Internet Copyright Basics, Internet FAQs, Internet myths, and Internet Related Links. The Copyright Basics details the basics of Internet-related material such as streaming media contents, webpages, and graphics. Internet FAQs is basically a list of questions relating to copyright on the Internet, and the Myths section debunks some commonly-asked questions regarding copyright. The last topic links to various sites on the Internet that deal with Internet copyright.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Clean and simple, with topics well laid out and divided into individual pages or hyperlinked/bookmarked with tables of contents, this website is very effective in putting information out fast with a minimum of clutter.
WEAKNESSES: Although the links section is rather sparse, they still link to professional sites such as the Library of Congress (United States Copyright Office) and various educational sites, and not personal webpages.
RECOMMENDED USES: This site is basically a more user-friendly version of the U.S. Copyright Office’s webpage. It covers most, if not all, topics with equal depth that the U.S. Copyright Office’s webpage did. Its simple format should display on most browsers as well.
CONTENT SUMMARY: Although this website deals with copyright in the United Kingdom, copyright laws across the globe are very similar. Six major topics are addressed and each topic provides background information on Internet copyright.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Topics are introduced smoothly and headings are set out from the text along the left side. The menu on the far left provides ample and easy navigation around the site. Links at the bottom provide answers to frequently asked questions regarding Internet copyright in Great Britain and elsewhere.
WEAKNESSES: Although the site is perfectly factual, it is still limited and could expand its scope more beyond the FAQs at the bottom of the page. The rotating banner up top is distracting when trying to read the text and the mouseover main menu does not work properly, probably a result of bad coding.
RECOMMENDED USES: This website could be replaced by a more thorough document on Internet copyright. It is useful for background information, however, like the website says.