CopyrightX

Case-Law Curriculum

Spring 2013

Prof. William Fisher

 

All of the materials for this course are available online. They can be obtained in either of two ways: each entry in the syllabus contains a link to a PDF version of the document in question; and the entire set of readings can be obtained, in the form of an H20 "playlist," at this site: http://h2odev.law.harvard.edu/playlists/945. 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 two interactive PDF "maps," may be downloaded from the following website: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/tfisher/IP/IP Maps.htm

 

Week 1

Lecture: The Foundations of Copyright Law

Readings:

• 17 U.S.C. 102
• Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991)
• Mannion v. Coors Brewing Co., 377 F.Supp. 2d 444 (S.D.N.Y. 2005)
• Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp., 45 F.2d 119 (2d Cir. 1930)
• Alexander v. Haley, 460 F.Supp. 40 (S.D.N.Y. 1978)

Week 2

Lecture: Fairness and Personality Theories

Readings:

• Justin Hughes, "The Philosophy of Intellectual Property," 77 Georgetown L.J. 287 (1988)
• A.A. Hoehling v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 618 F.2d 972 (2d Cir. 1980)

Event (Feb. 6, 7:00 p.m. EST): The Interests of Authors

• Speaker: Dale Cendali

Week 3

Lecture: The Subject Matter of Copyright

Readings:

• Pivot Point, Int'l v. Charlene Products, 372 F.3d 913 (7th Cir. 2004)
• Intervest Construction v. Canterbury Estate Homes, 554 F.3d 914 (CA11 2008)
• Lotus Development Corporation v. Borland International, Inc., 49 F.3d 807 (1st Cir. 1995)

Event (Feb. 13, 7:00 p.m. EST): IP Protection for Fashion

• Speakers: Jeannie Suk & Chris Sprigman

Week 4

Lecture: Welfare Theory

Readings:

• William Fisher, Promises to Keep: Technology, Law and the Future of Entertainment (2004), Chapter 6

Week 5

Lecture: Authorship

Readings:

• Lindsay v. The Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel R.M.S. Titanic, 52 U.S.P.Q.2d 1609 (S.D.N.Y. 1999)
• Aalmuhammed v. Lee, 202 F.3d 1227 (9th Cir. 1999)

Event (Feburary 27, 7:00 p.m. EST): Extralegal Norms

• Speakers: Dotan Oliar & Jim Mendrinos

Week 6

Lecture: The Mechanics of Copyright

Readings:

• Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 (1990)
• Eldred v. Ashcroft, 537 U.S.1 86 (2003)

Week 7

Lecture: The Rights to Reproduce and Modify

Readings:

• Three Boys Music Corp. v. Michael Bolton, 212 F.3d 477 (9th Cir. 2000)
• Steinberg v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., 663 F.Supp. 706 (S.D.N.Y. 1987)
• Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group, Inc., 150 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 1998) [Parts I & II]

Week 8

Lecture: The Rights to Distribute, Perform, and Display

Readings:

• Vernor v. Autodesk, 2010 U.S.App. Lexis 18957 (Sept. 10, 2010)
• Perfect 10 v. Amazon.com. 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2007) [Parts I, II, III.A., and III.B.]

Week 9

Lecture: Fair Use and Misuse

Readings:

• Castle Rock Entertainment v. Carol Publishing Group, Inc., 150 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 1998) [Part III]
• Blanch v. Koons, 467 F.3d 244 (2d Cir. 2006)
• Perfect 10 v. Amazon.com. 508 F.3d 1146 (CA9 2007) [Part III.C.]

Event (April 3, 7:00 p.m. EST): Appropriation Art

• Speakers: Shepard Fairey, Marita Sturken & Geoffrey Stewart

Week 10

Lecture: Cultural Theory

Readings:

• Martin v. City of Indianapolis, 192 F.3d 608 (7th Cir. 1999)
• Dastar Corporation v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 539 U.S. 23 (2003)
  

Week 11

Lecture: Supplements to Copyright: Secondary Liability and Para-copyright

Readings:

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. v. Grokster, 545 U.S. 913 (2005)
• Viacom v. YouTube, 676 F.3d 19 (CA2 2012)

Event (April 17, 7:00 p.m. EST): Free Culture

• Speaker: Larry Lessig

Week 12

Lecture: Remedies

Readings:

• 17 U.S.C. 501-506
• Salinger v. Colting, 607 F.3d 68 (2d Cir. 2010)
• United States v. Moran, 757 F.Supp. 1046 (D.Neb. 1991)

Event (April 24, 7:00 p.m. EST): Orphan Works and Digital Libraries

• Speakers: Robert Darnton, John Palfrey, Brewster Kahle

 

Version 1.1

Last modified: January 14, 2013

William Fisher

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