Copyright Law.

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Copyright law is being misinterpreted by a lot of people; accidently by some and deliberately by others. It isn't as fuzzy an anrea as trademark law.
The first major error is those who believe that if they write it, or photograph it, it is automatically theirs and no one else can use it. There are some really big flaws in this approach:

To be eligible for copyright, the work but be original and creative. There's nothing creative about an auction listing or directions to the local grocery store.
Someone commented they should take a picture of their house so no one else could. Wrong. We could stand in almost the same spot and take almost the same picture and your "copyright" would not stop our use of the picture.
To get statutory damages, a copyright MUST be registered with the copyright office BEFORE the alleged infrinement.
Fair use allows others to use their work for non-commercial, educational use and commentary (such as this web site).
Many things cannot be copyrighted

We do not agree with all of the opinions or conclusions stated in these articles. We have attempted to present all sides of the arguments as we have found them. We only present information we consider to be well-argued and factually supported. We do not take credit for the information presented. The great majority of it is gleaned from other sources. In many cases we credit the originator.

Contributory Infringement, helping someone infringe. Sometimes this is unknowingly done but it still can have consequences.

Copyrightability, a look at what can be copyrighted and what cannot be copyrighted.

Copyright Misuse Doctrine , an evolving defense to copyright infringment because of overreaching licensing by copyright owners.

Derivative, for famous marks only.

DMCA Takedown Notices -Requirements and Risks, posting by Christopher Barnett about the Digitial Millennium Copyright Act.

EULA, End User Licesning Agreement and what it really is.

Fair Use, a valid defense to copyright infringement.

Food Chain Barbie, Mattel loses again over Barbie in this First Amendment case.

First Sale Doctrine which limits the copyright holder's ability to control subsequent use and sale of the copy.

§ 512(F) of the DMCA and potential damages from false claims.

Licensed Fabric: what you can and cannot do with it.

Parody: Fair Use or Copyright Infringement, 1999 article by Lloyd L. Rich.

Parody vs Satire Analysis, in PDF format, from May 2006, American Bar Association paper by Juli Wilson Marshall.

Patterns and how copyright law actually applies to them.

Registration of a copyright and what it does.

Registration Proof as defined by the Tenth Circuit Coart of Appeals.

Statutory Liability comments from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

What is a Copyright?

What is not Copyrightable? according to the US Copyright Office