Not too long ago, the only familiarity most of us had with copyright was the copyright notice inside the books we read. Most faculty members would have been aware of assigning a copyright to a publisher, but this was typically an inconsequential act. Today copyright has complicated ramifications throughout academic life. You probably have an intuitive understanding of copyright's importance in the creation and distribution of creative works -- books, journal articles, electronic publications, music, movies, software, artworks, and sculpture. And you probably are aware that when you make and distribute copies of others' works to your students, or to research colleagues, it may or may not be a fair use. The options for scholarly communication have never been broader or more effective. You'll find discussion of copyright woven all through important aspects of research and teaching, such as:
Learn about what copyright involves, including what types of works are subject to copyright protection.
There are lot of misconceptions about copyright. The U.S. Copyright Office debunks five of the most common ones here.
Copyright by 
The Copyright Librarian by 
Copyright for Teachers and Librarians in the 21st Century by 
Copyright Law for Librarians and Educators by Much of this guide has been adapted from the University of Texas Libraries' Copyright Crash Course created by Georgia Harper. The guide can be found here: http://doi.org/10.15781/T24J09X6J
