This is one of the many "circulars" the U.S. Copyright Office provides on various copyright topics. Although it's 12 pages long, it is much less dense than reading the actual copyright law below.

This is the authoritative source of U.S. copyright information, provided by the U.S. Copyright Office, a department of the Library of Congress.

Provides the full text of current U.S. Copyright Law, information on how to register copyrighted works and a searchable database of copyright records.

Provides access to primary materials, current legislation, recent cases, a summary of U.S. Copyright Law and explanations of fair use, public domain and public domain "trouble spots."

Provides clear definitions of a joint work and other ownership questions that come up frequently in academia.

This site is maintained by the Legislation Committee of the Music Library Association (MLA) as a resource for anyone interested in issues of copyright as they apply to the fields of music and music librarianship.

Canada's Department of Justice provides the full text of the Copyright Act, along with related regulations.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) administers and processes most Canadian intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs and integrated circuit topographies. This link goes to the copyright section of the CIPO site.

Although this document authored by Kenneth Crews, JD, PhD, is written for graduate students writing theses and dissertations, it is a useful summary of the international copyright treaties in plain language and the considerations one must make when creating new intellectual work. Only five pages, it is a quick read.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the United Nations agency responsible for promotion and protection of intellectual property throughout the world. It administers multilateral treaties, including the Berne Convention. This link goes to the copyright section of the WIPO site.

First signed in 1886 and amended in 1979, the Berne Convention established minimum copyright terms for all the participating countries. NOTE: There are countries, such as the United States, that have longer copyright terms than the Berne Convention minimums. There are 172 countries that have signed the Berne Convention.

Links to the primary copyright laws and dozens of intellectual property (IP) laws.

Defines copyright and intellectual property, and links to the EU copyright database and frequently asked questions.