COPYRIGHT LAW
Fall 2007
Overview, basic information, and syllabus (version 1.0)
Professor Justin Hughes
212-790-0260
BASIC INFORMATION
Class hours:
Tuesdays and Thursdays, noon – 1:21pm
There is a make-up class scheduled for MONDAY, September 24 at NOON. Class MAY be cancelled on Tuesday, September 18.
Office hours and email policy:
Wednesdays, 130pm – 3:30pm AND I am very happy to meet by appointment. OR just stop by the office when the door is open – weekdays before 9:00pm.
If you are sending me an email about a class or school matter, please send it during weekdays. If you don’t receive a response within 5 days (or sooner), I recommend sending the message again.
Course Materials:
1. Robert A. Gorman and Jane C. Ginsburg, Copyright
(7th edition, Foundation Press, 2006).
2. Occasional, supplemental materials which will be available on the Angel system.
Exam/Evaluation Format:
1. Grading in the course will be based on an open book, 24 hour take-home examination.
2. In addition, class participation may be used to adjust 10+% of the class upward. Professor Hughes also reserves the right to adjust downward for lack of class participation.
3. As part of class participation, no internet use in permitted in the class (in case there should be WiFi reception in our classroom). #2 immediately above applies to this requirement as part of class participation; students violating this requirement may also be referred to the Committee on Academic Standing.
OVERVIEW
For most of the twentieth century, copyright law was the provenance of a handful of experts in mid-sized firms in New York, with satellites activity and expertise in Los Angeles and Washington. That all changed in the past 25 years as copyright has became a hotly contested area of law -- in the courtroom, in Congress, and in international trade relations.
Copyright law is also fascinating because it offers theoretical issues worthy of a philosophy class -- but with real world policy implications. How can we draw the distinction between an "idea" and its "expression"? What is "originality"? What’s the correct – or just – allocation of rights between artists of the present moment and tomorrow’s creators?
Cardozo’s IP program offers a wide range of copyright courses; this course – and Professor Beebe’s spring Copyright Law course – provide the basics of American copyright law exploring the various kinds of works copyright protects and why; the different rights under copyright; limitations and exceptions to those rights, including the fair use doctrine; copyright ownership issues; and how liability arises under copyright law. Although the practice of copyright law is increasingly international and high tech, this introductory course focuses on the statutes and rich case law that form the backbone of American copyright law.
Syllabus
Unless noted, all page assignments are from the casebook.
I. Introduction – An Overview of the Norms, Justification, and History of Copyright
1 - 9 [chapter 1.A.1-6, stop at “International Copyright”]
12-28 [chapter 1.B, stop at the Burrow-Giles Lithographic case]
During the first two weeks, please review the following provisions of the current Copyright Act: 17 USC §§ 102, 105 – 107, 201 – 202, 301 – 302.
You may wish to review § 101 for definitions relevant to other §§ you are reading here.
II. Rights over What? – The Scope of Copyright
A. The requirement of fixation
84 - 90 [through “Performers’ Right of Fixation”]
MAI Systems v. Peak, 991 F.2d 511 (9th Cir. 1993) on Angel system as MAIvPeak.doc
B. The requirement of originality in a 'work'-
75–84 [chapter 2.A.1]
33-36 [Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographic Co. case]
164-181 [Derivative Works section, to computer programs]
C. The requirement of originality and
the protection of photographs
29-33 [Burrow-Giles Lithographic Co. case]
Leigh v. Warner Bros, 10 F. Supp. 2d 1371 (S.D. Ga. 1998) on Angel system as LeigvWarnerBros.doc
D. Computer programs
181-195 [stop at Lotus v. Borland in 7th edition]
E. Expressions, not ideas
96-110
195-205 [Lotus v. Borland, stop at American Dental]
F. Expressions, not facts
111-131 [to "Compilations"]
G. Compilations, not facts;
Judgments, not facts
131-132 [Roth Greeting Cards]
135-151 [Matthew Bender case to “questions” in 151]
H. Pictorial, and Sculptural works,
"useful" items
221-252 [to “Architectural Works”]
I. Characters
259-263 [to end of Anderson v. Stallone]
264-265 [squib on MGM v. American Honda Motor Co.]
III. The Rights of Copyright and the Problem of Sameness
A. The right to make copies
502-506 [basically, SKIP Matthew Bender (pp. 506-508); stop at
509-586 “Authors Reproducing Works in Which They no Longer Own the Copyright”]
B. The traditional special nature of music
and phonorecords
589-599 [to “A Statutory Exemption . . . “]
C. The right to distribution copies and
the "first sale doctrine”
647-658 [to Quality King Distributors]
Bobbs-Merrill, 210 U.S. 339 (1908) on Angel system as Bobbs-Merrill.doc
D. The rights of public performance and of public display
664-692 [ignore Questions “1. Last year, Art Teest . . .” on page 684; read to “When is a Public Performance (not) also a Reproduction . . .” on 692]
704-711 [from "c. Secondary Transmissions " to “Compatibility with the Berne Convention”]
E. Derivative works
605-609
613-625 [skip “Questions” whenever you want]
IV. Fair Use and other exceptions
A. Fair Use
715-737
746-759 [Harper & Row]
776-785 [Sega Enterprises and Sony v. Connectix]
803-806 [American Geophysical Union v. Texaco summary] 815-821 [Kelly v. Arriba]
826-843 [Sony v. Universal; A & M Records v. Napster]
B. Other Exceptions
693-700 [“Further Limitations . . . .” to “b. The Section
110(5) Exemption”]
V. Third Party Liability -- Contributory and Vicarious
848-883 [Fonovisa V. Cherry Auction through Grokster opinions]
VI. Authors, Owners, and Duration
A. Ownership – a first cut
301-315 [to Questions]
320-340 [“With the Scope of Employment” Gaiman case]
344-351 [statutory provisions and Effects Associates case]
356-368 [Paramount Pictures and Boosey & Hawkes v. Disney]
B. Duration of Copyright and “Recapture”
375-386
Comic book version of Copyright Terms – from Aoki, Boyle, and Jenkins, “Bound By Law,” pages 10-11, based on a chart by Lolly Gasaway; on Angel system at Copyright Term Panel 1.jpg and Copyright Term Panel 2.jpg
413-414 [to Questions]
435-443 [transition chart through Stewart v. Abend]
447-452 [to Questions]
VII. Enforcement Mechanisms
very, very improbable that we will get to this, but if we do ......
908-932 [to Questions]
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