Author: Robert W. Clarida
Published by Bloomberg BNA
Table of Contents, Preface
Specifications: 2009/885 pp.
Price: $490 + S&H

Finally, a functional, “to-the-point” alternative to the expansive texts on copyright law, covering the most current cases and pivotal decisions.

When looking for the latest developments in copyright law, practitioners often turn to scholarly, multi-volume tomes that provide exhaustive coverage of every conceivable topic, but are not the best source for a practical discussion of the latest copyright decisions and their impact. What is needed is a reference that, rather than going into great theoretical and historical depth about the development of the law, clearly and concisely describes what the law actually is today. Instead of offering personal musings on statutory ambiguities and stray judicial remarks that have not yet led to court decisions, this treatise imparts clear answers to the questions the courts have actually addressed. Attorneys searching for this type of practical resource on copyright law now need look no further than Bloomberg BNA’ Copyright Law Deskbook, with an extensive Case Digest on CD-ROM.

As a worthy successor to BNA’s The Copyright Law by Alan Latman, Copyright Law Deskbook expertly addresses the law and practice of copyright. It provides a thorough treatment of the relevant law, with a particular emphasis on and analyses of recent case law developments, yet manages to stay far more pragmatic than existing treatises on the subject. This single-volume text aims to be useful rather than monumental, focusing on particular disputes and rendering details specific to cases so that practitioners can determine which are more likely to be germane to the questions they need answered the most.

With copyright law having undergone such dramatic changes since the development of the World Wide Web as a commercial, artistic, and intellectual hub, the Deskbook is also valuable for its exploration of cases in which existing copyright content is being aggregated, adapted, and distributed in ways unforeseen by Congress when it passed the Copyright Act in 1976. You’ll find all the most up-to-date and significant aspects of the law in this resource, including fair use, work for hire, copyrightability, digital rights and the DMCA, international considerations, damages, formalities, preemption, and litigation issues. Some of the highlights include:

• The relevant statutory language at the beginning of each chapter, followed by a discussion of precedent, organized to highlight the issues of greatest interest to practitioners: What is the applicable standard? Where has it been found satisfied, and where has it not?
• Details about the reasoning behind the decisions, not just string cites. From the text, practitioners can determine, even before pulling the cases, which ones are likely to be most germane and helpful to the question at hand. The result is not so much a treatise, but a professional reference that seeks above all to be useful rather than monumental.
• An up-to-date look at the cases behind the explosion of interest in copyright by practitioners (and their clients) who never before had reason to consider it. Mainstream media and consumers now regularly engage topics such as copyrights in cell phone ring tones, YouTube clips, and property rights in video games, images and digital characters.
• A look at copyrights when they intersect with taxes, insurance, antitrust, and bankruptcy.

Copyright Law Deskbook also includes a searchable CD-ROM holding a 15-year archive of significant copyright decisions compiled by lawyers at Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, P.C.

This treatise gives practitioners the tools they need to find direct answers to legal questions. For those who need advice about what the law is regarding copyright, Copyright Law Deskbook is the quick, accessible, and up-to-date source they will want on their bookshelf.

Also included is the up-to-date 2011 Cumulative Supplement covering The recent relaxation in copyright registration standards, as illustrated by Cosmetic Ideas, Inc. v. IAC/Interactivecorp, Important jurisdictional issues under the effects test, as applied in Brayton Purcell, LLP v. Recordon & Recordon, The long reach of long-arm statutes, as in Marvel Worldwide, Inc. v. Kirby, and many other important copyright decisions!

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