The Federal Copyright Law

The historical and legal background of the Federal Copyright Law with special implications for education was studied within five general areas of concern. The areas included: (1) historical development, (2) copyright revision issues, (3) principles of copyright law embodied in state and Federal statutes, (4) decisions of the courts pertaining to fair use of copyrighted materials, and (5) alternative solutions to the copyright revision impasse. The major findings were: (1) there have been three general revisions of the law, but the law is basically the 1909 Act, (2) state laws in conflict with federal legislation would be unconstitutional, (3) federal copyright statutes do not support the fair use doctrine, (4) the courts were not hospitable to two reported federal copyright cases involving educators, (5) the courts have held that fair use hinges on the circumstances of each case but there is