Copyright

Spring 2012

Prof. William Fisher

All of the materials for this course are available online. Each of the judicial opinions is available in both Adobe "pdf" and Microsoft Word versions. (The principal link for each case leads to the pdf version; the secondary link leads to the Word version.) The abridgments of the cases are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Sharealike 2.5 License, the terms of which are available here.

The lecture notes for the course, in the form of an interactive PDF "map," may be downloaded from the following website: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/tfisher/IP/IP Maps.htm

Syllabus 

Introduction: The Structure of Copyright Law

A. A Typical Dispute (January 23)

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. v. American Honda Motor Co., 900 F.Supp. 1287 (C.D.Cal. 1995) [Word version]

B. The International Framework (January 24):

• TRIPS Agreement, Articles 9-14

Part I: What is Protected?

A. Originality (January 25, 30)

• 17 U.S.C 102(a)
• Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Co., 188 U.S. 239 (1903) [Word version]
• Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991) [Word version]
• Mannion v. Coors Brewing Co., 377 F.Supp. 2d 444 (S.D.N.Y. 2005) [Word version]

B. The Idea/Expression Distinction (January 30-31; February 1)

• 17 U.S.C 102(b)
• Baker v. Selden, 101 U.S. 99 (1879) [Word version]
• Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp., 45 F.2d 119 (2d Cir. 1930) [Word version]
• A.A. Hoehling v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 618 F.2d 972 (2d Cir. 1980) [Word version]
• Alexander v. Haley, 460 F.Supp. 40 (S.D.N.Y. 1978) [Word version]

Labor-Desert Theory (February 6):

• Justin Hughes, "The Philosophy of Intellectual Property," 77 Georgetown L.J. 287, Part II (pages 296-314) (1988)

Economic Theory (February 6-7) [no classs February 8]

• William Fisher, "Theories of Intellectual Property" in Stephen Munzer, ed., New Essays in the Legal and Political Theory of Property (Cambridge University Press, 2001), Section III.A.
• F.M. Scherer, "The Innovation Lottery," in Rochelle Dreyfuss et al., eds., Expanding the Boundaries of Intellectual Property (Oxford Univ. Press 2001), pp. 3-21

C. Fixation (February 13)

• Cartoon Network LP v. CSC Holdings, Inc., 536 F.3d 121 (2d Cir. 2008) [Background and Part I] [Word version]

D. Useful Articles (February 13-14)

• Pivot Point, Int'l v. Charlene Products, 372 F.3d 913 (7th Cir. 2004) [Word version]

E. Architecture (February 14)

• Intervest Construction v. Canterbury Estate Homes, 554 F.3d 914 (CA11 2008) [Word version]

F. Software (February 15)

• Computer Associates International, Inc. v. Altai, Inc., 982 F.2d 693 (2d Cir. 1992) [Word version]
• Lotus Development Corporation v. Borland International, Inc., 49 F.3d 807 (1st Cir. 1995) [Word version]

Part II: Ownership

A. Authorship (February 20-21)

• 17 USC 201 
• Lindsay v. The Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel R.M.S. Titanic, 52 U.S.P.Q.2d 1609 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) [Word version]
• Aalmuhammed v. Lee, 202 F.3d 1227 (9th Cir. 1999) [Word version]
• Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730 (1989) [Word version]
• Avtec Systems, Inc. v. Peiffer, 21 F.3d 568 (4th Cir. 1994) [Word version]

The Ideology of Creativity (February 21):

• Martha Woodmansee, "On the Author Effect: Recovering Collectivity," 10 Cardozo Arts & Entertainment L. J. 279 (1992)
• Peter Jaszi, "Toward a Theory of Copyright: The Metamorphoses of `Authorship,'" 1991 Duke L.J. 455, 485-491

B. Formalities (February 22)

• Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr. v. CBS, Inc., 194 F.3d 1211 (11th Cir. 1999) [Word version]
• Christopher Sprigman, "Reform(alizing) Copyright," 57 Stan. L. Rev. 485 (2004), pp. 545-568

C. Duration, Renewals, and Transfers (February 27)

• Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 (1990) [Word version]
• New York Times Company v. Tasini, 533 U.S. 483 (2001) [Word version]

D. The Boundary between Copyright and the Public Domain (February 28)

• Browse the "Creative Commons" website: http://creativecommons.org/
• Golan v. Holder, 2012 U.S. Lexis 907 (Jan. 18, 2012)

Part III: Rights and Their Limitations

A. The Right to Reproduce (February 29, March 5)

• 17 U.S.C. 106
• Three Boys Music Corp. v. Michael Bolton, 212 F.3d 477 (9th Cir. 2000) [Word version]
• Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp., 45 F.2d 119 (2d Cir. 1930) (reprise) [Word version]
• Newton v. Diamond, 388 F.3d 1189 (9th Cir. 2004) [Word version]
• Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films LLC, 410 F.3d 792 (6th Cir. 2005) [Word version]
• Steinberg v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., 663 F.Supp. 706 (S.D.N.Y. 1987) [Word version]
• Computer Associates International, Inc. v. Altai, Inc., 982 F.2d 693 (2d Cir. 1992) (reprise) [Word version]
• Boisson v. Banian, Ltd., 273 F.3d 262 (2d Cir. 2001) [Word version]
• Swirsky v. Carey, 376 F.3d 841 (9th Cir. 2004) [Word version]
• Mannion v. Coors Brewing Co., 377 F.Supp. 2d 444 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (reprise) [Word version]

B. The Right to Modify (March 6-7)

• 17 U.S.C. 106A
• Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group, Inc., 150 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 1998) [Parts I & II] [Word version]
• Lee v. A.R.T. Company, 125 F.3d 580 (7th Cir. 1997) [Word version]
• Micro Star v. FormGen Inc., 154 F.3d 1107 (9th Cir. 1998) [Word version]
• Martin v. City of Indianapolis, 192 F.3d 608 (7th Cir. 1999) [Word version]
• Dastar Corporation v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 539 U.S. 23 (2003) [Word version]

Personality Theory:  (March 19)

• Margaret Jane Radin, Reinterpreting Property 36-44 (1993)
• Justin Hughes, "The Philosophy of Intellectual Property," 77 Georgetown L.J. 287, 330-49 (1988)
• William Fisher, "Theories of Intellectual Property" in Stephen Munzer, ed., New Essays in the Legal and Political Theory of Property (Cambridge University Press, 2001), Section III.C.

C. The Right to Distribute (March 20-21)

• Hotaling v. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 118 F.3d 199 (4th Cir. 1997) [Word version]
• Vernor v. Autodesk, 2010 U.S.App. Lexis 18957 (Sept. 10, 2010) [Word version]
• Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'anza Research International, Inc., 523 U.S. 135 (1998) [Word version]

D. The Rights to Perform and Display (recorded lecture in lieu of makeup class)

• Columbia Pictures Indus. v. Redd Horne, Inc., Columbia Pictures Indus. v. Redd Horne, Inc., 749 F.2d 154 (3d Cir. 1984)
• Cartoon Network LP v. CSC Holdings, Inc., 536 F.3d 121 (2d Cir. 2008) [Part III]
• Perfect 10 v. Amazon.com. 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2007) [Parts I, II, III.A., and III.B.]
• Recorded lecture:
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
  • Part 3
  • Part 4

E. Fair Use (March 26-28)

• 17 U.S.C. 107
• Sony Corporation of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984)
• Harper & Row, Publishers v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539 (1985)
• Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994)
• Castle Rock Entertainment v. Carol Publishing Group, Inc., 150 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 1998) [Part III]
• Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. v. Connectix Corp., 203 F.3d 596 (9th Cir. 2000)
• Blanch v. Koons, 467 F.3d 244 (2d Cir. 2006)
• Perfect 10 v. Amazon.com. 508 F.3d 1146 (CA9 2007) [Part III.C.]
• Gaylord v. United States, 595 F.3d 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2010)
• Randy Kennedy, "Apropos Appropriation," New York Times, December 28, 2011

Cultural Theory (April 2)

• William Fisher, "Reconstructing the Fair Use Doctrine," 101 Harv. L. Rev. 1659 (1988): Part V (pages 1745-83) 

F. Misuse (April 2)

• Practice Management Information Corp. v. American Medical Association, 121 F.3d 516 (9th Cir. 1997)

G. Secondary Liability (April 3-4)

• Sony Corporation of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984) (reprise)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. v. Grokster, 545 U.S. 913 (2005)
• Perfect 10 v. Amazon.com. 508 F.3d 1146 (CA9 2007) [Part IV]
• Viacom v. YouTube, ___ F.3d ___ (CA2 2012) (forthcoming)
• YouTube Copyright School

Part IV: Paracopyright

A. Technological Protection Measures (April 9-10)

• Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley, 273 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2001) [MS Word version]
• Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. v. Jung, 422 F.3d 630 (8th Cir. 2005) [MS Word version]

B. Copyright Management Information (April 10)

• Textile Secrets International v. Ya-Ya Brand, Inc., 524 F.Supp.2d 1184 (C.D.Cal. 2007) [MS Word version]

 

Version 3.0

Last modified: March 25, 2012

William Fisher

Email: tfisher@law.harvard.edu
Homepage: tfisher.org