- This is the homepage, reading list, and syllabus for Copyright Law – Spring 2021
- View the Important Course Information page: materials, mechanics, policies, and grading
- Read the Writing Assignments and related instructions
- Open Educational Resources (OER) copyright and permissions information
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HOW TO READ THE SYLLABUS AND FIND THE READING ASSIGNMENTS
One assignment per class. Except as noted below, each assignment below corresponds tentatively to one class period, though the amount of material to be covered in class, the order of the assignments, and/or the contents of a particular assignment may be changed by prior announcement. Note, for example, that there will be more class meetings than there are assignments. Every effort will be made to incorporate new developments in copyright law into the Syllabus, where appropriate.
The casebook is online. All of the assigned and optional readings for the course are available online, for free. You can read them online. You can download them to your own device(s). You can print them out. You can even combine them and have them printed and bound, as your own “book” copy. And, of course, you can edit them, annotate them, and cut them and paste them (or parts of them) in other things, such as course outlines.
Extras. For some assignments, additional materials have been posted online. These are separately identified in each assignment. They can be downloaded below and at the Important Course Information page. In some instances the supplemental materials may be posted to the TWEN page for this course, on Westlaw.
Many of the assignments include, in the right column below, links to optional (but possibly entertaining and useful) supplemental material. Some provides historical context for the assigned cases. Some consists of clips from motion pictures and television shows that illustrate related copyright themes. In some cases, these, too, illustrate the assigned readings. In some cases, they are (one hopes) funny takes on relevant legal points. Some of the film clips contain spicy [NSFW] language, sounds, and/or images.
Look up the statute. Within each assignment, the Syllabus notes the required reading, including the principal case(s) covered in the text. In addition to the assigned readings, where a case or other material refers to the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code), students are responsible for locating and reading the section(s) of the Act to which the text refers. At least three free online resources are available for that purpose: One is this free, online version of the Copyright Act hosted at Cornell University. Two is this free online publication of the United States Copyright Office. Two is Intellectual Property: Law & The Information Society / Selected Statutes & Treaties / 2019 Edition (James Boyle & Jennifer Jenkins, eds.).
Have some theory! On the Course Information page, optional readings are included. Some of these are relatively short. Some are quite long. On the whole, they are highly readable introductions to key theoretical and public policy debates surrounding copyright. Reading some or all of them will give students a deeper picture of the current state of copyright law and policy than students will get by focusing on appellate cases and the statute alone.
Why the optional materials? Learning and knowing the law is difficult, but it is never enough. Great lawyers need to learn and know context. Copyright conflicts and copyright negotiations exist in companies, in markets, and among human beings. Copyright law exists to solve social problems (as a solution, it may not work terribly well, and it may create additional problems, but we start by talking about the problems that copyright evolved to solve). History matters. Culture matters. Economics and business matter. Systems matter. Other bodies of law matter, beyond copyright and beyond intellectual property. Great lawyers need to learn how to investigate those things and how they relate to their clients and the problems that their clients are trying to solve. In many respects the study and practice of copyright law requires lawyers to “toggle” between “law” and “culture.” Exploring the optional materials will help you learn to do just that.
DAY BY DAY SYLLABUS AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
[1: THE PROBLEMS THAT COPYRIGHT SOLVES
Class 1 (the first day of class): An Introduction to Copyright’s Institutional Settings
Required Readings
- Read the following article from the New York Times Magazine about the role of so-called collecting societies in the music industry: The Music-Copyright Enforcers (August 6, 2010)
- Is the Batmobile subject to copyright? Read DC Comics v. Towle [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
Optional Materials
- Creativity Without Law: Challenging the Assumptions of Intellectual Property, Kate Darling and Aaron Perzanowski eds., NYU Press (2017)
- History of the Batmobile
- “Wonder Woman and Her Evolving Look”
- Read the following short articles from the New York Review of Books written by Professor Robert Darnton, former Director of the Harvard University Library, together with some comments on them. Each article is available online. If any of the links below to the New York Review of Books does not provide full access to the article, then go to Pitt’s University Library System page at http://www.library.pitt.edu/ and cut-and-paste the article title below into the search box. The search results will give you access to the full text, so long as you log in with your University of Pittsburgh credentials.
- Google & the Future of Books (Feb. 12, 2009)
- Google & Books: An Exchange (March 26, 2009)
- Google and the New Digital Future (Dec. 17, 2009)
Class 2: Why Copyright? Historical Context and Contemporary Challenges
Required Readings
- Read Boyle & Jenkins, Ch. 1 and Ch. 10, available on the Copyright Law – Spring 2021 page on TWEN, under “Course Materials.”
- WATCHING:
- Prelude to Axanar (2014)
- Frasier, Star Mitzvah (2002)
- The classic film Rear Window (1954) (you can find it on Google Play, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and iTunes) OR
- The two Rear Window trailers (see the right column)
- The modern mediocrity based on Rear Window, Disturbia (2007) (you can find it online, per the above services) OR
- The Disturbia trailer (see the right column)
- Slides
Optional Materials
- For those students with deeper interests in copyright history and theory, much of which is quite relevant today: Boyle, The Public Domain, Ch. 1 and Ch. 2. Both are available on the Copyright Law – Spring 2021 page on TWEN, under “Course Materials.”
- WATCHING:
- The greatest Star Trek film or TV show of all time: Galaxy Quest (2000)
- Movie trailer #1 for “levels of abstraction” analysis: Rear Window (1954) – official trailer
- Movie trailer #2 for “levels of abstraction” analysis: Rear Window (1954) – re-cut, modern trailer
- Movie trailer #3 for “levels of abstraction” analysis: Disturbia (2012) trailer
[2: THE PURPOSES OF COPYRIGHT, AS MEASURED BY LIMITATIONS: FAIR USE]
Class 3: Fair Use Basics – Cultural Interchange
Required Readings
- Section 107 of the Copyright Act
- Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- New Era Publications Int’l v. Carol Publishing Group [pdf] [docx]
- Bill Graham Archives v. Dorling Kindersley Ltd. [pdf] [docx]
- LISTENING:
- Roy Orbison, Oh, Pretty Woman
- The 2 Live Crew, Pretty Woman
- Slides
Optional Materials
- C-SPAN overview of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.
- Bill Graham at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
- WATCHING:
- Some fun with culture: Star Wars Robot Chicken
Class 4: Fair Use Basics – Market Failure or “Productive Consumption”?
Required Readings
Optional Materials
- XEROX, The Story of Xerography
- SONY, Corporate History: The Video Cassette Tape
- SONY, Corporate History: Sony Goes to Battle for Its Favorite Child
- Wired, VHS Comes to America
- Buy and read James Lardner, Fast Forward: Hollywood, the Japanese, and the VCR Wars
- Daily Beast, 15 Years After Napster: How the Music Service Changed the Industry
Class 5: The Cutting Edge of Fair Use
Optional Materials
[3: THE SUBJECT MATTER OF COPYRIGHT LAW]
Class 6: Fixation
Required Readings
Optional Materials
Class 7: Originality
Required Readings
- Section 102(a) of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co. [pdf] [docx]
- Burrow-Giles Lithographic Co. v. Sarony [pdf] [docx]
- Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Co. [pdf] [docx]
- Meshwerks, Inc. v. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Mannion v. Coors Brewing Co. [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
Assignment Number One will be distributed
around this time. The assignment will be due on Friday, February 26, 2021.
Class 8: The Idea/Expression Distinction
Required Readings
Optional Materials
- Official site for Jersey Boys (the show)
- Jersey Boys (2014), the film version (directed by Clint Eastwood)
- Trailer for the Jersey Boys film
- Is the Bluebook (A Uniform System of Citation) protected by copyright?
- Some scholars and activists say “no.”
- Oral Argument podcast, Baby Blue, with the leader of the Baby Blue project
Class 9: Authorship and Ownership
Required Readings
- Sections 201 and 202 of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Lindsay v. The Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel R.M.S. Titanic [pdf] [docx]
- Erickson v. Trinity Theatre, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Aalmuhammed v. Lee [pdf] [docx]
- Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid [pdf] [docx]
- Aymes v. Bonelli [pdf] [docx]
- Roeslin v. District of Columbia [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
Optional Materials
Class 10: Boundary Problems – Copyright and/vs. Trademark Law
Required Readings
Optional Materials
- Crusade in Europe
- Monty Python sketches selected more or less at random
- Derivative Works and New Music (Train)
- Derivative Works and Old Music (We Shall Overcome)
Class 11: Boundary Problems – Copyright and/vs. (Design) Patent Law: Useful Articles with Pictorial, Graphic, or Sculptural Aspects
Required Readings
Optional Materials
- Kieselstein-Cord v. Accessories by Pearl, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Carol Barnhart Inc. v. Economy Cover Corp. [pdf] [docx]
- Brandir International, Inc. v. Cascade Pacific Lumber Co. [pdf] [docx]
- Inside the Vicious, Vicious Cheerleader Wars
- Bananas copyright ruling from 2019: Silvertop Associates v. Kangaroo Manufacturing, Inc.
- Thoughtful running commentary on design rights in IP law: Professor Sarah Burstein at the University of Oklahoma
[4: THE STATUTORY RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS]
Many of the cases below feature claims of infringement in musical compositions and sound recordings. The Music Copyright Infringement Resource, hosted at George Washington University, contains an enormous volume of information about the works at issue in these and many other cases.
Class 12: The Elements of Infringement
Required Readings
- Sections 106 and 501 of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Three Boys Music Corp. v. Bolton [pdf] [docx]
- Selle v. Gibb [pdf] [docx]
- Ty, Inc. v. GMA Accessories, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp. [pdf] [docx]
- LISTENING:
- Isley Brothers, Love is a Wonderful Thing
- Michael Bolton, Love is a Wonderful Thing
- Bee Gees, How Deep is Your Love
- Ronald Selle, Let It End
- Slides
Optional Materials
- The HBO documentary on the Bee Gees, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
- About Abie’s Irish Rose
- About The Cohens and Kellys
- LISTENING:
- Axis of Awesome, 4 Chord Song
- Taylor Swift, Shake It Off and Sean Hall & Nate Butler, Playas Gon’ Play
- The Chiffons, He’s So Fine and George Harrison, My Sweet Lord
- Ray Parker, Jr., Ghostbusters and Huey Lewis & the News, I Want a New Drug
- John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat, Boogie Chillen No. 2 and ZZ Top, La Grange
- Fats Waller, Muskrat Ramble and Country Joe and the Fish, Fixin’ to Die Rag
Class 13: The Reproduction Right
Required Readings
- Section 106(1) of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Steinberg v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Boisson v. Banian, Ltd. [pdf] [docx]
- Mannion v. Coors Brewing Co. [pdf] [docx]
- Cavalier v. Random House, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Rentmeester v. Nike, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin [pdf] [docx]
- LISTENING:
- Taurus, Spirit
- Led Zeppelin, Stairway to Heaven
- Slides
Optional Materials
Read about the lawsuit between the estate of Marvin Gaye and Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over Blurred Lines and Got to Give It Up, and listen to the music:
- LISTENING:
- Xscape, One of Those Love Songs
- Mariah Carey, Thank God I Found You
- Marvin Gaye, Got to Give it Up
- Robin Thicke, Blurred Lines
- READING:
- A summary of the Blurred Lines case
- Williams v. Gaye [pdf] [docx]
- Joe Bennett, Did Robin Thicke steal ‘Blurred Lines’ from Marvin Gaye?
- Dan Reitz, Blurred Lines case: An analysis of the piano arrangements as they were presented to the jury
- Robert Fink, Blurred Lines, Ur-Lines, and Color Lines
- Toni Lester, Blurred Lines – Where Copyright Ends and Cultural Appropriation Begins – The Case of Robin Thicke versus Bridgeport Music and the Estate of Marvin Gaye
- (podcast) Whomst Among Us Let the Dogs Out
- Beyond music and new for February 2021: Substantial similarity and character copyright in Dubay v. King [pdf only]
Class 14: The Distribution Right
Required Readings
Optional Materials
- The United Kingdom and Ireland each have a Public Lending Right, which does not exist in the United States. Read more here.
Class 15: The Right to Prepare Derivative Works, and Moral Rights
Required Readings
- Sections 106(2) and 106A of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Lee v. A.R.T. Company [pdf] [docx]
- Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.[pdf] [docx]
- Micro Star v. FormGen, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. v. RDR Books [pdf] [docx]
- Lilley v. Stout [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
Class 16: The Public Performance and Public Display Rights
Required Readings
Classes 17 and 18: Licenses, Deals, and the Mechanics of Transfers
Required Readings
- Section 204 of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Asset Marketing Systems, Inc. v. Gagnon [pdf] [docx]
- Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers, Ltd. v. The Walt Disney Company [pdf] [docx]
- Random House v. Rosetta Books [pdf] [docx]
- Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Jacobsen v. Katzer [pdf] [docx]
- F.B.T. Productions v. Aftermath Records [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
Assignment Number Two will be distributed
around this time. The assignment will be due on Monday, April 5, 2021 [was Friday, April 2, 2021].
[5: COPYRIGHT ENFORCEMENT – WHO IS LIABLE AND HOW?]
Classes 19 and 20: Identifying Defendants
Required Readings
- Sections 106 and 501 of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Religious Technology Center v. Netcom On-Line Communication Services, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Fonovisa, Inc. v. Cherry Auction, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Perfect 10, Inc. v. Visa Int’l Service Ass’n [pdf] [docx]
- MGM Studios Inc. v. Grokster Ltd. [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
Class 21: Remedies
Required Readings
- Sections 502 through 507 of the Copyright Act
- Bryant v. Media Right Productions [pdf] [docx]
- Columbia Pictures Television v. Krypton Broadcasting of Birmingham, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Engel v. Wild Oats [pdf] [docx]
- Dash v. Mayweather [pdf] [docx]
- Hamil America v. GFI [pdf] [docx]
- Salinger v. Colting [pdf] [docx]
- United States v. Liu [pdf] [docx]
- Slides [from 2020]
Optional Materials
- 1959: Legislative history – Remedies Other Than Damages for Copyright Infringement
Class 22: Service Providers
Required Readings
Optional Materials
- Review the further record of proceedings in Lenz
- The Let’s Go Crazy video in dispute – on YouTube
- Prince, identity, and music: a complex relationship – one
- Prince identity, and music: a complex relationship – two
- Prince, Let’s Go Crazy
- A Step Toward Protecting Fair Use on YouTube
- For a few truly bad DMCA takedowns, YouTube offers to cover legal costs
[6: REGULATORY COPYRIGHT]
Class 23: Formalities
Required Readings
- Michael J. Madison, Formalities, on the Copyright Law – Spring 2021 page on TWEN
- Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Slides [from 2020]
Optional Materials
Class 24: Duration; Renewals and Terminations of Transfers
Optional Materials
- Rupa Marya v. Warner Chappell Music Inc. (the Happy Birthday to You case)
- ‘Happy Birthday’ Copyright Case Reaches a Settlement
Class 25: Copyright, Compulsory and Statutory Licensing, and Collective Rights Organizations
Required Readings
[7: THE FUTURE OF COPYRIGHT]
Class 26: Reform Proposals
Required Readings
- Reform past (intended to be big changes): Section 1201 of Title 17, added by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998
- Reform present (small changes): the CASE Act
- Reform future? (big changes): Maria Pallante, The Next Great Copyright Act
Optional Materials
- Jessica Litman, Pamela Samuelson et al., The Copyright Principles Project
- Towards a modern, more European copyright framework (European Commission proposal of Dec. 9, 2015)
- American Law Institute, Restatement of the Law, Copyright project
- What if focusing on authorship alone were … wrong?
- The CASE Act: a deep dive
Assignment Number Three will be distributed during the last week of class. The assignment will be due on the last day of exams.