Researching Copyright Law

A BLS professor might assign or recommend CALI exercises to reinforce material covered in classes.   Students can browse CALI lessons by subject.  BLS first year students receive a CALI authorization code during 1L orientation. The BLS CALI student code also is available at the Circulation desk or by emailing askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu. 

CALI Lessons covering Copyright

Two commonly-used legal encyclopedias, American Jurisprudence 2d (AmJur 2d) and Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS), can be useful research starting points.  These legal encyclopedias provide general discussions of legal issues and citations to key cases from many U.S. jurisdictions.  BLS students, faculty and administrators can access both legal encyclopedias in Westlaw Precision and can access AmJur in Lexis+.

American Jurisprudence 2d (Westlaw)

Chapter: Copyright and Literary Property (Westlaw, w/ May 2025 update)

AmJur chapter: Copyright and Literary Property discusses: the subject matter and scope of copyright protection; notice and registration; duration and renewal; and civil and criminal liability for infringement.

Corpus Juris Secundum (Westlaw)

Chapter: Copyrights and Intellectual Property (Westlaw, w/ Aug. 2025 update)

CJS chapter: Copyrights and Intellectual Property discusses the basic principles of copyright law, including laws specific to particular works. It also addresses: ownership; duration; transfer and termination; and principles of infringement and remedies.

Nutshells are short volumes that provide simple overviews of areas of law. They might assist non-lawyers and law students. Nutshells published by West Academic include the word "nutshell" in the title. Do not cite a nutshell in a legal document.

This Examples & Explanations study aid includes a brief overview of the law, followed by numerous examples and explanations that reinforce and confirm copyright law concepts and rules. 

This Concise Hornbook provides a survey of U.S. intellectual property, including copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, and key areas of state law protection (e.g., the right of publicity).