All of the assigned readings are available online through the links in the syllabus, below. In addition, most of the readings are available in two printed volumes, available for purchase from Amazon through the following links: Volume 1; Volume 2.
Week 1
Lecture 1: The Foundations of Copyright Law
Discussion (January 27): Originality
- 17 U.S.C. 102(a)
- Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Co., 188 U.S. 239 (1903) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991) [pdf] [MS Word][h2o]
- Mannion v. Coors Brewing Co., 377 F.Supp. 2d 444 (S.D.N.Y. 2005): paragraphs 1-79 [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
Discussion (January 28): The Idea/Expression Distinction
- 17 U.S.C. 102(b)
- Baker v. Selden, 101 U.S. 99 (1879) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp., 45 F.2d 119 (2d Cir. 1930) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Alexander v. Haley, 460 F.Supp. 40 (S.D.N.Y. 1978) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 2
Lecture 2: Fairness and Personality Theories
Discussion (February 3): Labor v. Personhood
- John Locke, The Second Treatise of Government (1689), Chapter 5 [pdf]
- Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), pp. 174-182 [pdf]
- Turner Entertainment Co. v. Huston, Court of Appeal of Versailles, France, December 19, 1994 [pdf]
Discussion (February 4): Nonfiction
- A.A. Hoehling v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 618 F.2d 972 (2d Cir. 1980) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- American Historical Association, Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct, #4: Plagiarism (2005)
- Malcolm Gladwell, “Something Borrowed,” The New Yorker, Nov. 22, 2004
Week 3
Lecture 3: The Subject Matter of Copyright
Discussion (February 10): Characters and Useful Articles
- DC Comics v. Towle, 802 F.3d 1012 (9th Cir. 2015) [pdf] [MS Word] [h20]
- Shine v. Childs, 382 F.Supp.2d 602 (2005) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands (US Supreme Court 2017) [pdf]
Discussion (February 11): The Entertainment Industry
- U.S. Copyright Office, The Music Modernization Act (December 2019)
Week 4
Lecture 4: Welfare Theory
Discussion (February 17): Information Technology
- Lotus Development Corporation v. Borland International, Inc., 49 F.3d 807 (1st Cir. 1995) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Oracle v. Google (CAFC 2014) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (February 18): Bounded Rationality
Week 5
Lecture 5: Authorship
Discussion (February 24): Multiple Authors
- 17 U.S.C. 201
- Lindsay v. The Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel R.M.S. Titanic, 52 U.S.P.Q.2d 1609 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) [pdf] [MS Word][h2o]
- Aalmuhammed v. Lee, 202 F.3d 1227 (9th Cir. 1999) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (February 25): Works for Hire
- Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730 (1989) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Avtec Systems, Inc. v. Peiffer, 21 F.3d 568 (4th Cir. 1994) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 6
Lecture 6: The Mechanics of Copyright
Discussion (March 2): Copyright and Parentalism
- Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 (1990) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- New York Times Company v. Tasini, 533 U.S. 483 (2001) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (March 3): Copyright and the Constitution
- Eldred v. Ashcroft, 537 U.S.1 86 (2003) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Golan v. Holder, 2012 U.S. Lexis 907 (2012) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 7
Lecture 7: The Rights to Reproduce and Modify
Discussion (March 9): “Probative Similarity” and “Substantial Similarity”
- 17 U.S.C. 106
- Three Boys Music Corp. v. Michael Bolton, 212 F.3d 477 (9th Cir. 2000) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Steinberg v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., 663 F.Supp. 706 (S.D.N.Y. 1987) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- Rentmeester v. Nike, Inc. (9th Cir. 2018) [pdf]
- Mannion v. Coors Brewing Co., 377 F.Supp. 2d 444 (S.D.N.Y. 2005): paragraphs 81-94 [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
Discussion (March 10): Derivative Works
- Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group, Inc., 150 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 1998): paragraphs 11-58 [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- Lee v. A.R.T. Company, 125 F.3d 580 (7th Cir. 1997) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Micro Star v. FormGen Inc., 154 F.3d 1107 (9th Cir. 1998) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 8
Lecture 8: The Rights to Distribute, Perform, and Display
Discussion (March 23): Distribution and First Sale
- Hotaling v. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 118 F.3d 199 (4th Cir. 1997) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons (U.S. Supreme Court, March 19, 2013) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (March 24): Performances and Displays
- American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo, Inc., 134 S.Ct. 2498 (2014) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Perfect 10 v. Amazon, 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2007): paragraphs 1-65 [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 9
Lecture 9: Fair Use and Misuse
Discussion (March 30): Fair Use, Part 1
- 17 U.S.C. 107
- Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group, Inc., 150 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 1998): paragraphs 60-95 [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- Blanch v. Koons, 467 F.3d 244 (2d Cir. 2006) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
Discussion (March 31): Fair Use, Part 2
- Perfect 10 v. Amazon, 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2007): paragraphs 67-91 [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Gaylord v. United States, 595 F.3d 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2010) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- Cariou v. Prince, Docket No. 11-1197-cv (2nd Cir. 2013) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Authors Guild v. Google, 804 F.3d 202 (2d Cir. 2015) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Oracle v. Google (CAFC 2018) [pdf]
Week 10
Lecture 10: Cultural Theory
Discussion (April 6): Moral Rights in the United States
- 17 U.S.C. 106A
- Martin v. City of Indianapolis, 192 F.3d 608 (7th Cir. 1999) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- Dastar Corporation v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 539 U.S. 23 (2003) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (April 7): Traditional Knowledge
Week 11
Lecture 11: Supplements to Copyright: Secondary Liability and Para-copyright
Discussion (April 13): Secondary Liability
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. v. Grokster, 545 U.S. 913 (2005) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Perfect 10 v. Amazon, 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2007): paragraphs 94-131 [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Viacom v. YouTube, 676 F.3d 19 (CA2 2012) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (April 14): Technological Protection Measures
- Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley, 273 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2001) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- 37 C.F.R 201.40 (2018) [pdf]
Week 12
Lecture 12: Remedies
Discussion (April 20): Damages
- 17 U.S.C. 504, 505
- Frank Music Corp. v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., 886 F.2d 1545 (9th Cir. 1989) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Fantasy, Inc. v. Fogerty, 94 F.3d 553 (9th Cir. 1996) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (April 21): Injunctions and Crimes
- 17 U.S.C. 501, 502, 503, 506
- Salinger v. Colting, 607 F.3d 68 (2d Cir. 2010) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- United States v. Moran, 757 F.Supp. 1046 (D.Neb. 1991) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Last modified: January 21, 2020
