Find Yourself in Copyright Exhibit; U.S. Copyright Office

 U.S. Copyright Office; Find Yourself in Copyright Exhibit

"Copyright serves all of us, incentivizing creation and enriching our culture. Find Yourself in Copyright explores how U.S. copyright law has evolved and how the millions of copyright claims registered with the Office illustrate the varied nature of original works. Based on the exhibit located at the Copyright Office, here, you will learn about the story of copyright in the United States and the Copyright Office’s key role. 

Interested in more? Explore the resources on our History and Education page, follow our Copyright: Creativity at Work blog, and when the Madison Building in Washington, DC, reopens to the public, be sure to visit our exhibit on the fourth floor."

Find Star Wars in Copyright; Library of Congress, May 4, 2022

 Alison Hall, Library of Congress; Find Star Wars in Copyright

"If you’ve ever watched The Big Bang Theory, you know that the guys are obsessed with Star Wars. In one episode, Leonard suggests a Star Wars marathon weekend to Sheldon, who replies with “Movies or video games? Or board games? Or trading card games? Or Legos? Or dress up? Or comic books? Or dramatic readings of novelizations? Yes to all!” They settle on the online game. The scene just scratches the surface of all the Star Wars derivative works, many of which I owned “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. . . .” (or, more accurately, forty-some years ago in Pittsburgh).

So, just how many hits do you think searching “Star Wars” gets in the Copyright Public Records System? On this Star Wars Day, I got more than 8,400. Now, not all of them are related to the first Star Wars movie, registered by Twentieth Century-Fox in 1977—for example, some are about the star wars defense system from the 1980s. But most are on topic, and several can be seen in the Find Yourself in Copyright exhibit."