Book Review: Copyright: Best Practices for Academic Libraries

Abstract

The heart of US copyright law is composed of two principles: the right to decide if a copy, and what kind of copy, may be made of a work and the right of first sale, which limits how much control a creator has over their work once it changes ownership. The Constitution gave Congress the power to pass laws regarding copyright and other types of intellectual property (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8). Together these rules, along with an exception built into the law in 1976, form the foundation of the modern American library.