This is the home page for LAW 5328 – Copyright Law for the Spring 2023 edition of the course.
The course will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 am to 10:20 am. The class will meet on Zoom rather than face to face. Class meetings will be recorded, and the class recordings will be posted afterward to YouTube.
- Syllabus and Readings
- Important Course Information: materials, mechanics, policies, and grading
- Writing Assignments and related instructions
- Open Educational Resources (OER) copyright and permissions information
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 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 (or Doesn’t)
Class 1 (the first day of class): An Introduction to Copyright’s Institutional Settings
Required Readings
- The Music-Copyright Enforcers (August 6, 2010) (If the NYT website requires a subscription – it shouldn’t – find the article via the University Library System; see instructions to the right)
- Georgia v. Public.Resource.org [pdf] [docx]
- Science’s pirate queen, The Verge (February 8, 2018)
- Oil painter’s prize-winning canvas looks an awful lot like another artist’s photo Boing Boing (June 4, 2022)
- Is the Batmobile subject to copyright? Read DC Comics v. Towle [pdf] [docx]
- Pillsbury, The Rise of the Copyright Bots (May 6, 2020)
- Slides
- Recording of the class
Optional Materials
- Rebecca Tushnet, Payment in Credit: Copyright Law and Subcultural Creativity (2007) (focusing on fan communities)
- Creativity Without Law: Challenging the Assumptions of Intellectual Property, Kate Darling and Aaron Perzanowski eds., NYU Press (2017)
- Google & the Future of Books (Feb. 12, 2009) (The author, Professor Robert Darnton, is the former Director of the Harvard University Library. If the New York Review of Books does not provide full access to the article, then go to Pitt’s University Library System page 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.)
- History of the Batmobile
- “Wonder Woman and Her Evolving Look”
- (If you’re unable to access the NYT “Wonder Woman” article, see these very similar pieces from The Atlantic Monthly, EW, and Wonder Costumes.)
- Henning Grosse Ruse-Khan, Automated Copyright Enforcement Online: From Blocking to Monetization of User-Generated Content
Class 2: Why Copyright? Historical Context and Contemporary Challenges
Required Readings
- Critically important history, theory, and public policy: Boyle & Jenkins, Ch. 1 and Ch. 10, available on the Copyright Law – Spring 2023 page on TWEN, under “Course Materials.”
- WATCH: Prelude to Axanar (2014)
- WATCH: Frasier, Star Mitzvah (2002)
- WATCH: Movie trailer #1 for “levels of abstraction” analysis: Rear Window (1954) – official trailer
- WATCH: Movie trailer #2 for “levels of abstraction” analysis: Rear Window (1954) – re-cut, modern trailer
- WATCH: Movie trailer #3 for “levels of abstraction” analysis: Disturbia (2012) trailer
- Slides
- Recording of the class
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 2023 page on TWEN, under “Course Materials.”
- Pamela Samuelson, Mapping the Digital Public Domain: Threats and Opportunities (2003)
- WATCH: The greatest Star Trek film or TV show of all time: Galaxy Quest (2000)
- WATCH: The classic film Rear Window (1954) (you can find it on Google Play, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and Apple TV )
- WATCH: The modern mediocrity based on Rear Window, Disturbia (2007) (you can find it online, per the above services)
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]
- LISTEN: Roy Orbison, Oh, Pretty Woman and [NSFW images and lyrics] The 2 Live Crew, Pretty Woman
- Slides
- Recording of the class
Optional Materials
- WATCH: C-SPAN overview of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.
- Bill Graham at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
- WATCH: 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: What is Art? What is Function?
Required Readings
Optional Materials
- About Oracle v. Google/Google v. Oracle
- Cariou v. Prince [pdf] [docx]
- Blake Gopnik, Warhol a Lame Copier? The Judges Who Said So Are Sadly Mistaken
- Explore the briefs filed in the Supreme Court in Warhol v. Goldsmith [the relevant briefs are those filed between June 2022 and the present day)
- Oral argument in Warhol v. Goldsmith [transcript] [audio]
- Sotheby’s, Andy Warhol and His Process
- Creating an Andy Warhol Photocopy and Screen Printing Real Effects with Photoshop
- Art Institute of Chicago, Retrospective: Andy Warhol – From A to B and Back Again
- Art Institute of Chicago, 13 Things You Might Not Know About Andy Warhol
3: The Subject Matter of Copyright
Class 6: Fixation
Required Readings
- Section 102(a) of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Williams Electronics, Inc. v. Artic International, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Garcia v. Google, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- WATCH: Defender
- WATCH: Defense Command
- Slides
- Recording of the class
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]
- Lanard Toys Limited v. Dolgencorp LLC [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
- Recording of the class
Optional Materials
- The case of the monkey selfie
- Who owns the monkey selfie?
- Naruto v. Slater (N.D. Cal.)
- Naruto v. Slater on appeal
- Newton v. Diamond [pdf] [docx]
- LISTEN: James Newton, Choir and Beastie Boys, Pass the Mic
Assignment Number One will be distributed around this time. The assignment will be due on Friday, February 24, 2023.
Class 8: The Idea/Expression Distinction
Required Readings
- Section 102(b) of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Baker v. Selden [pdf] [docx]
- Bikram’s Yoga College of India v. Evolation Yoga, LLC [pdf] [docx]
- Corbello v. Valli [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
- Recording of the class [Alas, the 2023 edition of this class was not recorded. The link goes to the 2022 edition, which is substantially the same.]
Optional Materials
- Official site for Jersey Boys (the show)
- Jersey Boys (2014), the film version (directed by Clint Eastwood)
- WATCH: Trailer for the Jersey Boys film
- Is the Bluebook (A Uniform System of Citation) protected by copyright?
- Some scholars and activists say “no.”
- LISTEN: 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
- Recording of the class
Class 10: Formalities, Preemption, and State Law
Required Readings
- Sections 301, and 401 through 412, of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Michael J. Madison, Formalities, on the Copyright Law – Spring 2023 page on TWEN
- Wheaton v. Peters [pdf] [docx]
- Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Maloney v. T3Media, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P. [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
- Recording of the class
Optional Materials
- Martin Luther King, Jr. And Copyright: Five Things You Should Know
- WATCH: KJ Greene, Copyright Formalities as the Bane of African-American Artists from Blues to Hip-Hop
- On remand from the Supreme Court: Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P. [pdf] [docx]
Class 11: Boundary Problems – Copyright and/vs. Trademark Law
Required Readings
Optional Materials
- Crusade in Europe
- WATCH: Monty Python sketches selected more or less at random
- Derivative Works and New Music (Train)
- Derivative Works and Old Music (We Shall Overcome)
- LISTEN: The Velvet Underground, Sunday Morning
Class 12: Boundary Problems – Copyright and/vs. (Design) Patent Law: Useful Articles with Pictorial, Graphic, or Sculptural [PGS] Aspects
Required Readings
Optional Materials
- Kieselstein-Cord v. Accessories by Pearl, Inc.
- Carol Barnhart Inc. v. Economy Cover Corp.
- Brandir International, Inc. v. Cascade Pacific Lumber Co.
- Inc. magazine, Inside the Vicious, Vicious Cheerleader Wars: Leigh Buchanan, Meet Rebel, the $20 Million Cheerleading Startup Living Up to Its Name
- A bananas copyright ruling from 2019: Silvertop Associates v. Kangaroo Manufacturing, Inc.
- Thoughtful running commentary on design rights in IP law: Professor Sarah Burstein at Suffolk University
- FASHION IN ART: Uptown Funk
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 13: The Elements of Copyright 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]
- LISTEN: Isley Brothers, Love is a Wonderful Thing and Michael Bolton, Love is a Wonderful Thing
- LISTEN: Bee Gees, How Deep is Your Love and Ronald Selle, Let It End
- Slides
- Recording of the class
Optional Materials
- WATCH: The HBO documentary on the Bee Gees, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
- About Abie’s Irish Rose
- About The Cohens and Kellys
- LISTEN: Axis of Awesome, 4 Chord Song
- LISTEN: Taylor Swift, Shake It Off and Sean Hall & Nate Butler, Playas Gon’ Play
- LISTEN: The Chiffons, He’s So Fine and George Harrison, My Sweet Lord
- LISTEN: Ray Parker, Jr., Ghostbusters and Huey Lewis & the News, I Want a New Drug
- LISTEN: John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat, Boogie Chillen No. 2 and ZZ Top, La Grange
- LISTEN: Fats Waller, Muskrat Ramble and Country Joe and the Fish, Fixin’ to Die Rag
Class 14: 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]
- Zindel v. Fox Searchlight Pictures [pdf] [docx]
- Alfred v. Walt Disney Co. [pdf] [docx]
- Gray v. Hudson [pdf] [docx]
- LISTEN: Taurus, Spirit and Led Zeppelin, Stairway to Heaven
- Slides
- Recording of the class
Optional Materials
- WATCH: H.R. Pufnstuf
- WATCH: McDonaldLand (accused of infringing H.R. Pufnstuf)
- Substantial similarity and character copyright in Dubay v. King [pdf only]
- As recent as it gets (1): Hall v. Swift (the “Playas Gon’ Play” case. In December 2022, the case was dismissed and possibly settled)
- As recent as it gets (2): continuing proceedings in Alfred v. Walt Disney Co. (the “Pirates of the Caribbean” case): Disney’s motion for summary judgment and the court’s order denying that motion. In September 2022, the case settled.
- Swirsky v. Carey
- LISTEN: Xscape, One of Those Love Songs and Mariah Carey, Thank God I Found You
- 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:
- LISTEN: Marvin Gaye, Got to Give it Up and Robin Thicke, Blurred Lines
- 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
- LISTEN: (podcast) Whomst Among Us Let the Dogs Out
- LISTEN: Flame, Joyful Noise and Katy Perry, Dark Horse
- WATCH: Video of the Gray v. Hudson argument before the Ninth Circuit]
Class 15: The Distribution Right and the First Sale Doctrine [Exhaustion]
Required Readings
- Sections 106(3) and 109(c) of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Capitol Records, Inc. v. Thomas [pdf] [docx]
- Bobbs-Merrill Company v. Straus [pdf] [docx]
- Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Capitol Records, LLC v. Redigi Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
- Recording of the class [That is the 2022 class, which is substantially the same as the 2023 class. The 2023 class failed to record.]
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 16: The Right to Prepare Derivative Works
Required Readings
- Sections 106(2) 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]
- Slides
- Recording of the class
Assignment Number Two will be distributed around this time. The assignment will be due on Friday, March 31, 2023.
Class 17: The Public Performance and Public Display Rights
Required Readings
- Section 106(4), 106(5), 109(c), and 110 of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Columbia Pictures Indus. v. Redd Horne, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. v. Aereo, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Nicklen v. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
- Recording of the class
Optional Materials
- Dan L. Burk, Inventing Around Copyright
- Understanding Aereo and its limitations
- Fox Television Stations, Inc. v. Aereokiller, LLC
- More on the status of the server test: Goldman v. Breitbart News Network, LLC
Class 18: “Moral” Rights in US Law and Elsewhere
Required Readings
- Section 106A of the Copyright Act and relevant selections from Section 101
- Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation, Inc. v. Buchel [pdf] [docx]
- Lilley v. Stout [pdf] [docx]
- Cheffins v. Stewart [pdf] [docx]
- Castillo v. G&M Realty L.P. [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
- Recording of the class [includes Q & A for assignment 2]
Optional Materials
- MASS MoCA: Training Ground for Democracy
- The Burning Man Aesthetic: Steven Raspa, From Apotheosis to Artful Cities: Ra$pa’s Ride Through Burning Man’s Evolution
- Facebook group: Friends of La Contessa
- The construction of La Contessa
- The destruction of La Contessa
- 5Pointz
- Disney Enterprises, Inc. v. VidAngel, Inc.
- The implications of the VidAngel result
Class 19: Building Copyright Businesses and Institutions – Of Customs, Practices, 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]
- Solid Oak Sketches, LLC v. 2K Games, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers, Ltd. v. The Walt Disney Company [pdf] [docx]
- Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Jacobsen v. Katzer [pdf] [docx]
- F.B.T. Productions v. Aftermath Records [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
- Recording of the class
Optional Materials
- Random House v. Rosetta Books [pdf] [docx]
- Great Minds v. FedEx Office & Print Services, Inc.
- Michael J. Madison et al., The University as Constructed Cultural Commons (2009)
- Michael J. Madison, Of Coase and Comics, or The Comedy of Copyright (2009)
- Robert Spoo, Informal Publishing Norms and the Copyright Vacuum in Nineteenth-Century America (2017)
- LISTEN: Eminem, The Real Slim Shady [NSFW]
- LISTEN: Dr. Dre, Dre Day (and Everybody’s Celebratin’) [NSFW]
5: Copyright Enforcement – Who is Liable and How?
Class 20: Identifying Defendants (and Business Partners)
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
- Recording of the class
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]
- Mango v. BuzzFeed, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Slides
- Recording of the class
Optional Materials
- 1959: Legislative history – Remedies Other Than Damages for Copyright Infringement
- How this often works, today: News from the National Cyber-Forensic and Training Alliance
Class 22: Service Providers
Required Readings
Optional Materials
- Review the further record of proceedings in Lenz
- WATCH: The Let’s Go Crazy video in dispute – on YouTube
- Prince, identity, and music: a complex relationship (1): Chelsea Reynolds, I’m a gender and sexuality scholar. Here’s how the media blew it on Prince
- Prince identity, and music: a complex relationship (2): Tyree Rush, Prince and the Revolution of the ‘Black Male Identity’
- WATCH: 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: Duration, Renewals, and Termination of Transfers
Required Readings
- Eldred v. Ashcroft [pdf] [docx]
- Stewart v. Abend [pdf] [docx]
- Michael J. Madison, Formalities, on the Copyright Law – Spring 2023 page on TWEN
- Peretti v. Authentic Brands Group [pdf] [docx]
- Inside 2 Live Crew’s Latest Legal Battle: Copyright Termination (December 12, 2022)
- Slides
- Recording of the class
Optional Materials
- Rupa Marya v. Warner Chappell Music Inc. (the Happy Birthday to You case)
- ‘Happy Birthday’ Copyright Case Reaches a Settlement
- The saga of the Phillie Phanatic, involving copyright in mascots and termination rights
- WATCH: The King, Can’t Help Falling in Love (Live in Honolulu version)
Class 24: Copyright, Compulsory and Statutory Licensing, and Collective Rights Organizations
Required Readings
- Michael J. Madison, Compulsory Licenses and Regulatory Copyright, on the Copyright Law – Spring 2023 page on TWEN
- Newton v. Diamond [pdf] [docx]
- Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films [pdf] [docx]
- Arista Records, LLC v. Launch Media, Inc. [pdf] [docx]
- Music Choice v. Copyright Royalty Board [pdf] [docx]
- The Music Modernization Act of 2020, a summary
- Slides
- Recording of the class
7: The Future of Copyright (or “De-Regulatory Copyright?”)
Class 25: The Future of Copyright? Law Reform Past, Law Reform Present, and Law Reform Yet to Come
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
- About the Copyright Claims Board (CCB)
- Reform future? (big changes): Maria Pallante, The Next Great Copyright Act
- Slides
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, and more, better, and more equitable knowledge were grounded instead in structured collaboration and sharing?
- The CASE Act: a deep dive
- The US Copyright Office’s new Strategic Plan
Class 26: The Future of Copyright? Sci-Fi, or More of the Same
Required Readings
- Kal Raustiala and Christopher Sprigman, The One Redeeming Quality of NFTs Might Not Even Exist
- Brian Frye, NFTs & the Death of Art
- WATCH: Pillsbury, NFT Pros and Cons: What Companies Need to Know
- Slides
- Recording of the class
Optional Materials
- The Bored Ape Yacht Club
- Brian Frye, After Copyright: Pwning NFTs in a Clout Economy
- WATCH: Prof. Christa Laser — Intellectual Property Law Issues in Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
- WATCH: Line Goes Up – The Problem With NFTs [a long but accessible explanation of what NFTs have to do with blockchain and 21st century politics and economics generally]