Library:Video Game Law Legal Research Support

From UBC Wiki

Secondary Sources

When presented with a legal problem, it is generally a good idea to begin with a book on your topic, especially if you know very little about the area of law you are researching. The commentary will likely assist you in gaining important background knowledge that will help you in clarifying the legal issue or issues at hand.

Finding Books Using the Library Catalogue

From any UBC library web page, (www.library.ubc.ca) select Search Collections from the top menu choices and then select Books & Media (Catalogue).

Keyword searching is a good way to begin your search for relevant books on your topic. From the search screen, select Keywords (use AND, OR, NOT or “a phrase”) from drop-down menu. Once you have generated a list of results, scan the list for books that might be relevant to your topic. Click on the titles of these books to see the full records. Note that the full records include ‘clickable’ subject headings that allow you to find additional books on the topic that you are researching. For additional guidance, consults the Law Library’s research guide for locating books on a topic.

Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias provide general commentary on a full range of legal topics. If you are unfamiliar with a topic, or cannot locate a book on your topic, a legal encyclopedia is an excellent place to begin your research.

  • Canada
Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (Western)
Call Number: Reference Room (level 2): KE156.2 .C364
or online via WestlawNext Canada
Halsbury’s Laws of Canada
Call Number: Reference Room (level 2): KE180 .H34
or online via LexisNexis Quicklaw
  • United States
American Jurisprudence, 2d
Call Number: Reference Room (level 2): KF154 .A42 1962
or online via WestlawNext Canada (identifier: AMJUR)
Corpus Juris Secundum
Call Number: Reference Room (level 2): KF154 .C67
or online via WestlawNext Canada (identifier: CJS)
  • United Kingdom
Halsbury's Laws of England
Call Number: Reference Room (level 2): KD310 .H34 2008
or online via Halsbury's Laws of England

Legal Periodicals

Legal periodicals include law reviews, legal newspapers, bar association periodicals and interdisciplinary journals. They can be general in scope or focused on a specific subject. Locating articles in legal periodicals on a topic that you are researching can be invaluable and can save you hours of research time.

  • Canada
Index to Canadian Legal Literature
Covers mainly journal articles but also includes books, government documents and other publications. The ICLL generally does not provide links to full-text.
Call Number: Reference Room (level 2): KE1.I53 (1800 - present)
or online via WestlawNext Canada (1987 - present)
  • United Kingdom & European Union
Legal Journals Index
Indexes over 700 law journals, and summarizes articles, case & legislative comments from UK, EU, and Irish law journals. Available on WestlawNext Canada.
Access:
1) select the International tab at the top of the page;
2) under Other International Materials, select United Kingdom; and
3) under Journals heading, select Legal Journals Index.
  • United States (and beyond)
Legal Periodicals and Books (LPB)
(1982- ) Provides thorough coverage of American law journals, and selective coverage of law journals from various Commonwealth countries, including Canada.
LegalTrac
1980 onward
Coverage is similar to LPB, with slightly more coverage of bar journals and legal newspapers.
Links to full text are a key advantage.
  • Australia & New Zealand
AGIS (Attorney-General's Information Service)
1975 onward, with full-text starting in 1999.Over 130 legal journals from Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Foreign
IFLP (Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals)
1985 onward. Indexes selected journals from countries outside of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and United States.

Full-Text Legal Periodicals Databases

Access to over 1,600 law and law-related periodicals.
A division of the Social Science Research Network, enables legal scholars to distribute and share their research worldwide by providing free access to their scholarly papers.
from homepage, select Journals and/or Commentary tab.
from homepage, select Articles and Newsletters.

Legislative Research

Canada

  • Federal
Consolidated Statutes & Regulations
Justice Laws website (‘official’ source)
CanLII
WestlawNext Canada
LexisNexis Quicklaw
  • Bills
LEGISinfo - detailed information about individual Bills from 2001 onward.
Parliament of Canada
  • British Columbia
Consolidated Statutes & Regulations
BC Laws website
Quickscribe Online
CanLII
WestlawNext Canada
LexisNexis Quicklaw
  • Bills
Legislative Assembly of BC website - detailed information about individual Bills from 1992 onward.
  • Other Provinces and Territories
Consult the UBC Law Library’s Legislation Research Guide.

Case Law Research

Digest Services

Digests contain summaries of court and tribunal decisions and are generally classified according to the legal principles they address using a controlled vocabulary. This organization often results in retrieving more relevant cases than would be the case with full-text searching.

  • Canada
Canadian Abridgment
This is Canada’s most comprehensive case digest service. The Abridgment covers virtually every case reported in Canada since the earliest times (1803), and unreported cases since 1986, with the exception of Quebec civil law cases.
Call Number: Reference Room (level 2): KE 173
or via WestlawNext Canada.

Full-Text Case Law Databases

  • Canada
CanLII
WestlawNext Canada
LexisNexis Quicklaw

WestlawNext Canada

Access:
1) select the International tab at the top of the page;
2) under Other International Materials, select United Kingdom; and
3) under Cases heading, select relevant case law database.

LexisNexis Quicklaw

Access:
1) from homepage, select Source Directory tab at the top of the page;
2) using the Country drop-down menu, select United Kingdom; and
3) select Cases folder, then select relevant database(s).