Law & Technology Writing Workshop: Fall 2012

Getting Started

Law Library Home Page

The stepping stone for many legal research projects.  

LawCat

The Law Library catalog includes only materials held by Berkeley Law Library, and is thus the place to begin research of our holdings of books, including e-books, and journals. Other catalogs on campus are not reliable finding tools for the Law Library collection.

Example:
Keyword search for electronic mail monitor*
Note the subject headings assigned to the resulting titles:
Privacy, Right of
Electronic mail messages
Data protection

Example:
Keyword search for: patent*
Then modify by location: Reserve Collection

Law Review and Journal Articles: LegalTrac, Index to Legal Periodicals, HeinOnline, and Full-Text Databases

A legal index such as LegalTrac or the Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (both also available on Lexis and Westlaw as, respectively, Legal Resource Index and Index to Legal Periodicals) can refine the search for pertinent articles.

  • Controlled vocabulary for more precise and effective searching
  • Material from historical publications (e.g., Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospetive covers 1918 -1981)
  • Material from local and regional practitioner publications
  • Recent inclusion of full-text documents as well as index records
    1. LegalTrac
      Search file sharing as a keyword. Note the tabbed results (for journals, magazines, news, etc.) and the subject headings.

 

  1. Index to Legal Periodicals
    Search file sharing as a Smart Search. Note the sources and subject headings:
    Peer-to-peer computing
    Copyright infringement

    Note the UCeLinks button in both LegalTrac and Index to Legal Periodicals, as well as other electronic resources.

    Compare the results for "file sharing" in the Westlaw or Lexis full-text journal files.

  2. HeinOnline
    Full text of legal journals, coverage extending back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries for many of these journals. LawCat includes links to all journals in HeinOnline from their catalog records.

    For legislative historical work, see Hein's U.S. Federal Legislative History Library, consisting of two components:
    • Sources of Compiled Legislative History Database
    • U.S. Federal Legislative History Title Collection

    The latter includes

    • Federal Copyright Law: The Legislative Histories of the Major Enactments of the 105th Congress
    • Legislative History of the 1909 Copyright Act
    • Omnibus Copyright Revision Legislative History
    • Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2002 - A Legislative History
    • Intellectual Property Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999
    HeinOnline has an unwieldy search engine, useful only if you know precisely what text your're seeking.

Lexis and Westlaw

[N.B: The tips here and below refer primarily to the legacy versions of Lexis and Westlaw, less so to the new versions introduced by each service, LexisNexis Advance and WestlawNext.]

Search Tip: To see the contents and coverage of a database on Westlaw and Lexis click on the information icons next to the database name:
Westlaw =
Lexis =

Lexis Directory and Documentation
Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Antitrust & Trade/Copyright Law/Cyberlaw & E-Commerce/Patent Law/Trademark Law

Westlaw Directory and Documentation
All Databases > Topical Materials by Area of Practice > Intellectual Property/Science & Computer Technologies Law

Also: Intellectual Property resources from Thomson/West.

Cases: State and Federal
In both Lexis and Westlaw, search for cases by first going to the topical arrangments for technology related areas and then using the case databases. For example:

Westlaw: All Databases > Topical Materials by Area of Practice > Intellectual Property > U.S. Federal Cases
All Databases > Topical Materials by Area of Practice > Intellectual Property > State IP Materials Combined > Multistate Intellectual Property - Cases

Lexis: Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Cyberlaw & E-Commerce > Find Cases

Statutes and Legislative Materials: Federal and State
Statute databases are available both at the federal and state levels. As with cases, it is recommended that you use the topical subject arrangements so that you can limit your searches to databases that just contain relevant statutes. For example:

Westlaw: All Databases > Topical Materials by Area of Practice > Intellectual Property > U.S. Federal Statutes

Lexis: Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > Cyberlaw & E-Commerce > Find Statutes, Regulations & Administrative Materials> Federal

ProQuest Congressional contains material drawn from the Congressional Information Service (CIS), still available throughout Lexis. Until 2011, when Lexis sold the product to ProQuest, Lexis offered it as LexisNexis Congressional.

Westlaw has developed its statutes/legislative history materials with Graphical Statutes, a feature that incorporates:

  • Prior versions of statutes
  • Links to enacting and amending public laws
  • Relevant legislative history materials, such as bill drafts, reports, journals, and the Congressional Record
  • Cases that negatively impact a statute
  • Legislation that has been enacted but has not yet been codified
  • Future text of a statute not yet in effect

 Example: 17 U.S.C.A. § 1201

Treatises/Analytical Materials/Practice Guides/News
Don't take the shotgun approach to searching for cases. Begin your research with a treatise or practice guide, many of which are available on Lexis and Westlaw. Again, the easiest way to see the range is to look in the directories:

Westlaw:
All Databases > Topical Materials by Area of Practice > Intellectual Property > Forms, Treatises, CLEs and Other Practice Material
All Databases > Topical Materials by Area of Practice > Intellectual Property > BNA Intellectual Property Materials
You can also "Scan the Westlaw Directory" by searching for databases whose descriptions contain your query terms. For example, a search on biotechnology will result in several files, such as Biotechnology Law Report and BNA's Biotech Watch (neither of which is available to us, because we do not subscribe to the BNA counterpart).

Lexis:
Legal Area of Law - By Topic > Copyright Law > Search Analysis, Law Reviews & Journals
You can also "Find a Source" in Lexis for databases whose titles contain your query terms. For example, a search on biotechnology will result in several files, such as IAC Biotechnology.

Major IP/Technology Databases, Looseleafs, and Blogs

News and Current Awareness

Bloomberg BNA Library

The Law Library subscribes to Bloomberg BNA services related to IP and technology law, many covered in categories other than Intellectual Property.

Knowledge Mosaic
Current awareness of federal agency activities. Although neither the USPTO nor USCO is among the agencies tracked, searches may produce results, especially from the law firm memos database.

General Looseleafs

  • Ian C. Ballon, E-commerce and Internet Law: Treatise with Forms
    Reserve: KF889 .B252
  • Donald S. Chisum, Patents: A Treatise on the Law of Patentability, Validity and Infringement
    Reserve: KF3114 .C45
    Also available on Lexis.
  • Copyright Law Reporter
    Stacks: KF2991.5 .C67
  • Jay Dratler, Cyberlaw: Intellectual Property in the Digital Millennium
    Stacks: KF2979 .D725
    Also on Westlaw: CIPDM.
  • Jay Dratler, Intellectual Property Law: Commercial, Creative, and Industrial Property
    Stacks: KF2979 .D73 1991
    Also on Westlaw: IPLCCIP.
  • Paul Goldstein, Goldstein on Copyright
    Stacks: KF2994 .G642
  • J. Thomas McCarthy, McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition, 4th ed.
  • Stacks: KF3180 .M29 1996
    Also on Westlaw: MCCARTHY.
  • Melville B. Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright: A Treatise on the Law of Literary, Musical and Artistic Property, and the Protection of Ideas
    Reserve: KF2994 .N54
    Also available on Lexis.
  • William F. Patry, Patry on Copyright
    Stacks: KF2991.5 .P38
    Also on Westlaw: PATRYCOPY.
  • Specialized Legal Research
    Reference Desk: KF240 .S641
    Chapter 4: Joseph J. Beard & William H. Manz, Copyright Law.

General Technology-Related Databases and Indexes

Berkeley Law Library Databases
The Law Library maintains a list of databases purchased by either the law library or the main campus that are of interest and use to law students and faculty. Examples of services that may be unfamiliar but useful for historical and current developments research include:

  • CQResearcher
    Rudimentary but sweeping coverage of issues important to Congress. Good historical archive.
  • ProQuest Congressional CRS Reports
    Proposals and analysis written at the behest or on behalf of Congress by a non-partisan office of experts.
  • ProQuest
    Abstracts, indexing, and full-text of articles from more than 1,100 periodical titles. Also includes dissertations and theses.
  • Factiva
    Provides business news and information from more than 9,000 sources in 22 languages, including influential local, national and international newspapers, leading business magazines, trade publications, and news wires.

UC Berkeley Library Databases
Additional databases appear on the main Berkeley library system Electronic Resources page. The UC Berkeley list of Articles Databases, contains over 200 databases in many subject areas.
Example: View resources by subject Bioengineering. Search PapersFirst for patents as a keyword.

UC Berkeley Libraries Electronic Resources
Many of the libraries and research centers on campus maintain listings of technology-related electronic resources. For example:

Non-Governmental Organization and Academic Web Sites

Blogs

  • Ars Technica
    News and discussion of technology trends.
  • DocuTicker
    An archive of reports, studies, press releases, and government documents relating to diverse topics. Simple keyword searches—e.g., internet gambling—can elicit useful and timely materials.
  • Freedom to Tinker
    "[C]omment and analysis from the digital frontier."
  • Info/Law
    Information law is, according to this mildly active blog, "an obvious convergence of intellectual property doctrine, communications regulation, First Amendment norms, and new technology."
  • Michael Geist's Blog
    Geist teaches Internet and E-Commerce Law at University of Ottawa. The blog focuses on Canada, but often addresses US, foreign, and international developments.
  • Patently O: Patent Law Blog
    "The nation's leading patent law blog."
  • Slashdot
    Copious, but often informative.
  • beSpacific
    A one-woman insomniac operation that magically reports on current events in a variety of legal areas.
  • Technology & Marketing Law Blog
    Updates and commentary on cases, laws, and regs.
  • Rebecca Tushnet's 43(B)log
    Copyright, trademark, false advertising and marketing, antitrust...
  • ITC 337 Law Blog
    ITC patent investigations.

Legislative Histories

Federal Legislative Histories

The library's federal legislative resources section has links to a number of databases and government websites and includes a guide to compiling a legislative history

Already covered above, HeinOnline U.S. Federal Legislative History Library and ProQuest Congressional.

California Legislative Histories

The Library web site's California legislative research section has links to databases, some government websites, and a guide to compiling a California legislative history.

See also Official California Legislative Information and the California State Legislature Bill Search.

Regulations and Agencies

Regulations

Regulations are available from a myriad of print and electronic resources. Lexis and Westlaw have extensive coverage of regulations with specialized topical databases.

Federal and state agency web pages are also increasingly important and cost effective ways of doing regulatory research. A good starting point for federal regulatory research is the the Federal Executive and California Executive sections of the Library's web site.

  • Regulations.gov
    Example: Search for recent documents relating to Title 37 of CFR.

Agency Websites

It is important to refer to the web sites for the various agencies that deal with law and technology issues. Agencies typically post proposed and final regulations, guidance documents and statements, legislation, manuals, international treaties, and news releases. They also will have online directories of employees, offices, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses. The currency and extent of the information will differ from agency to agency.

General Directories of Agencies

Federal Agencies

International Sources

Among the Law Library's greatest strengths are its international and foreign law collections. The resources below are merely a sample. Don't hesitate to contact Marci or Teresa for assistance with any questions you may have about international or foreign legal aspects of law and technology.

Marci Hoffman
Associate Director, International and Foreign Law Librarian
LL1 64
mhoffman@law.berkeley.edu

Dean C. Rowan, drowan@law.berkeley.edu
Michael Levy, mlevy@law.berkeley.edu

Last edited by Joe Cera, 28 August 2012