Book Review: Copyright and Course Reserves: Legal Issues and Best Practices for Academic Libraries

Abstract

From the creation of the first US federal copyright law in 1790 to the present, those charged with interpreting its meaning have faced a daunting task. Mark Twain joked near the turn of the twentieth century, “Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet.” Anticipating the passage of the 1976 Copyright Act, The New York Times predicted, “no bells are likely to ring [in celebration].” Why? “The matter is simply too technical, complicated and cumbersome for anyone but specialists to get very excited.”