The Copyright Office, Library of Congress (Washington, D.C. 20559) published
Circular 22:  How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work.  It looked
like a royal pain, so happily the last page of the publication is a search
request form.  The Reference & Bibliography Section (202-707-6850, in case
you want to call) will do copyright searches for $20.00 an hour or fraction
of an hour consumed.  I have heard that they are pretty efficient if you
send them complete information.  The form asks questions about the type of
work, the search information you require, specifics of the work to be
searched, and some personal information (such as whether you want to be
called with the results of the search).  You are supposed to enclose the
fee, but I'm not sure how you know how much to send.  I think they assume that
it won't take more than one hour.  I received this publication, plus some
others on copyright (Copyright Basics and Obtaining Copies of Copyright
Office Records and Deposits) by calling the number I gave above.  I had a little
trouble getting through, but once I did the librarians I spoke with were
extremely helpful.
 
I will follow up on the copyright status of The Negro Soldier.  The guy on
the desk at the National Archives who told me it is copyrighted said that
it is because it uses some copyrighted footage.  I asked how I would know
if the scenes I want to use are copyrighted and he produced a shot log stating
the source of each shot and scene.  It was pretty amazing.  The catch is that
they won't duplicate a broadcast quality copy of the film without proof that
I have secured rights, but what if I don't need rights for the shots I want
to use?  I don't plan to pay for any rights until I have pursued this higher
in the organization.  Thanks for your advice.
 
Kristine Brancolini
Indiana University