All of the readings assigned for this course are available online through the links in the syllabus, below. In addition, most of the readings (and some optional additional material) are available in two printed volumes, available (for $10 apiece) from Amazon through the following links: Volume 1; Volume 2.
Prior to the seminar for each week, students in the online sections should have both watched the recorded lecture and read the assigned material. The lectures are especially crucial; students who have not watched them will not be able to participate effectively in the seminars.
Many of the assigned readings consist of edited judicial opinions. Non-lawyers unfamiliar with this genre may find helpful the following document: Understanding Judicial Opinions
Week 1 (Jan. 28-30)
Lecture 1: The Foundations of Copyright Law
Readings:
- 17 U.S.C. 102(a)
- 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]
Week 2 (Feb. 4-6)
Lecture 2: Fairness and Personality Theories
Readings:
- William Fisher, “Theories of Intellectual Property,” in Stephen Munzer, ed., New Essays in the Legal and Political Theory of Property (Cambridge University Press, 2001)
- Turner Entertainment Co. v. Huston, Court of Appeal of Versailles, France, December 19, 1994 [pdf]
Week 3 (Feb. 11-13)
Lecture 3: The Subject Matter of Copyright
Readings:
- DC Comics v. Towle, 802 F.3d 1012 (9th Cir. 2015) [pdf] [MS Word] [h20]
- Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands (US Supreme Court 2017) [pdf]
Week 4 (Feb. 18-20)
Lecture 4: Welfare Theory
Readings:
Week 5 (Feb. 25-27)
Lecture 5: Authorship
Readings:
- 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]
Week 6 (Mar. 4-6)
Lecture 6: The Mechanics of Copyright
Readings:
- Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 (1990) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Eldred v. Ashcroft, 537 U.S.1 86 (2003) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 7 (Mar. 11-13)
Lecture 7: The Rights to Reproduce and Modify
Readings:
- 17 U.S.C. 106
- Steinberg v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., 663 F.Supp. 706 (S.D.N.Y. 1987) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- Rentmeester v. Nike, Inc. (9th Cir. 2018) [pdf]
- Mannion v. Coors Brewing Co., 377 F.Supp. 2d 444 (S.D.N.Y. 2005): paragraphs 81-94 [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
Week 8 (Mar. 25-27)
Lecture 8: The Rights to Distribute, Perform, and Display
Readings:
- Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons (U.S. Supreme Court, March 19, 2013) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo, Inc., 134 S.Ct. 2498 (2014) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 9 (Apr. 1-3)
Lecture 9: Fair Use and Misuse
Readings:
- 17 U.S.C. 107
- Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Authors Guild v. Google, 804 F.3d 202 (2d Cir. 2015) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Oracle v. Google (CAFC 2018) [pdf] [MS Word]
- Google v. Oracle (SCOTUS 2021) [pdf] [MSWord]
- Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith (2d Cir. 2021) [pdf] [MS Word]
Week 10 (Apr. 8-10)
Lecture 10: Cultural Theory
Readings:
- 17 U.S.C. 106A
- William Fisher, “The Puzzle of Traditional Knowledge,” 67 Duke Law Journal 1511 (2018) [MS Word]
Week 11 (Apr. 15-17)
Lecture 11: Supplements to Copyright: Secondary Liability and Para-copyright
Readings:
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. v. Grokster, 545 U.S. 913 (2005) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Viacom v. YouTube, 676 F.3d 19 (CA2 2012) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 12 (Apr. 22-24)
Lecture 12: Remedies
Readings:
- 17 U.S.C. 501, 502, 503, 506
- Salinger v. Colting, 607 F.3d 68 (2d Cir. 2010) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- United States v. Moran, 757 F.Supp. 1046 (D.Neb. 1991) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Exam (May 6-10)
The 2021 CopyrightX exam period will open on May 6 at 9:00am ET (13:00 UTC) and will close on May 10 promptly at 8:59am ET (12:59 UTC). Late submissions will not be processed.
Exam Instructions: [PDF]
Exam: The exam was distributed to all online students on 5/6 shortly before 13:00 UTC. If you believe you did not receive this message, please check your email’s spam filters before inquiring.
*If you are experiencing hardship due to COVID-19 that impacts your ability to take the CopyrightX exam during the specified time frame, please email copyrightxcourse@gmail.com with details, and we will provide reasonable accommodations.