Week 1
Lecture 1: The Foundations of Copyright Law
Discussion (January 23): 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 24): 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 (January 30): Labor v. Personhood
Discussion (January 31): 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 6): Characters and Useful Articles
- DC Comics v. Towle, 802 F.3d 1012 (9th Cir. 2015) [pdf] [MS Word] [h20]
- Pivot Point, Int’l v. Charlene Products, 372 F.3d 913 (7th Cir. 2004) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- 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 7): Software
- 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]
Week 4
Lecture 4: Welfare Theory
Discussion (February 13): Applications of Welfare Theory
Discussion (February 14): Alternatives to Copyright
Week 5
Lecture 5: Authorship
Discussion (February 20): 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 21): 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 (February 27): 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 (February 28): The Boundary between Copyright and the Public Domain
- 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]
Special Event (March 1): Business Strategy and Law Reform
- Guest speaker: Fred von Lohmann, Senior Copyright Counsel, Google
Week 7
Lecture 7: The Rights to Reproduce and Modify
Discussion (March 6): “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]
- Boisson v. Banian, Ltd., 273 F.3d 262 (2d Cir. 2001) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- Swirsky v. Carey, 376 F.3d 841 (9th Cir. 2004) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- 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 7): 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 20): Distribution and First Sale
Discussion (March 21): Performances and Displays
Week 9
Lecture 9: Fair Use and Misuse
Discussion (March 27): 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]
- Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. v. Connectix Corp., 203 F.3d 596 (9th Cir. 2000) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (March 28): Fair Use, Part 2
- Blanch v. Koons, 467 F.3d 244 (2d Cir. 2006) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- 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]
Week 10
Lecture 10: Cultural Theory
Discussion (April 3): 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 4): Traditional Knowledge
Week 11
Lecture 11: Supplements to Copyright: Secondary Liability and Para-copyright
Discussion (April 10): Secondary Liability
Discussion (April 11): Technological Protection Measures
Week 12
Lecture 12: Remedies
Discussion (April 17): Damages
Discussion (April 18): Injunctions and Crimes
Last modified: January 12, 2017
