From: R Russell Neuswanger <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: copyright home page
 
        As an aging exile from the Copyright Office lo these many years,
I still try to keep up with old friends, in part by retaining my
subscription to the house organ, in which I found an article whose text I
reproduce below.
        The URL is
        http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright
 
           R. R. Neuswanger, Ph.D., NRA life
                     [log in to unmask]
                I speak for me. Only.
 
 
COPYRIGHT OFFICE GETS OWN HOME PAGE
        by Ruth Sievers
 
        Those cruising the Internet via the World Wide Web now are able to
access the Copyright Office via its own home page. Copyright Office
information has been accessible through the Library of Congress' home page
since the Library went online with the World Wide Web (WWW), but it was
only in June that the Office obtained its own home page.
        A home page on the World Wide Web allows the user, through a WWW
browser such as Netscape of Mosaic, to get a quick overview of the
information offered. Major areas are underscored, and if the user clicks
on the underscored part, he will obtain information about that subject. In
some instances, he will be linked to another server on the Internet.
        For instance, users of the Copyright Office's WWW home page can go
into folders that contain general copyright information, which in turn
have folders containing more specific information. The Office's most
frequently asked questions, and recent Federal Register announcements are
available, as are the COPICS files.
        The same copyright information is available through a number of
other ways via the internet -- that is by gopher and by telnetting to LC
Marvel -- but many users prefer the WWW. Not only is it so easy to use,
but graphics, sounds, and motion pictures may be viewed and downloaded. In
addition, the gopher menu does not permit linking to other home pages.
        The Copyright Office's home page is linked to several other
related home pages. These include the copyright law at the House of
Representatives, copyright information at Stanford University and the
University of Virginia Library, BMI, the Copyright Clearance Center,
CNI-Copyright Mailing List Archives, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,
and the Software Publishers Association.
        Copyright Information Specialist Ed rogers, who designed the
Office's home page and who manages its operation, is working on adding the
application forms to the home page, possibly by the time this article
appears in print. Users will be able to download the forms to their home
computers. In addition, he plans an interactive application form. In that
case, the user clicks on a part of the form, for example, line 1, and the
instructions for line 1 will appear on the screen. That form will not be
downloaded, but will be used to assist someone who has a paper copy in
front of him or her.
        Visual Information Specialist Darlene Chang has assisted Rogers
in the design of the header and various other aspects of the home page.
 
URL: http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright