All of the assigned readings are available online through the links in the syllabus, below. In addition, most of the readings are available in two printed volumes, available (for $10 apiece) from Amazon through the following links: Volume 1; Volume 2.
Week 1
Lecture 1: The Foundations of Copyright Law
Discussion (January 25): Originality
- 17 U.S.C. 102(a)
- Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Co., 188 U.S. 239 (1903) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- 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]
Discussion (January 26): The Idea/Expression Distinction
- 17 U.S.C. 102(b)
- Baker v. Selden, 101 U.S. 99 (1879) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp., 45 F.2d 119 (2d Cir. 1930) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Alexander v. Haley, 460 F.Supp. 40 (S.D.N.Y. 1978) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 2
Lecture 2: Fairness and Personality Theories
Discussion (February 1): Labor v. Personhood
- John Locke, The Second Treatise of Government (1689), Chapter 5 [pdf]
- Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), pp. 174-182 [pdf]
- Turner Entertainment Co. v. Huston, Court of Appeal of Versailles, France, December 19, 1994 [pdf]
Discussion (February 2): Nonfiction
- A.A. Hoehling v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 618 F.2d 972 (2d Cir. 1980) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- American Historical Association, Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct, #4: Plagiarism (2005)
- Malcolm Gladwell, “Something Borrowed,” The New Yorker, Nov. 22, 2004
Week 3
Lecture 3: The Subject Matter of Copyright
Discussion (February 8): Characters and Useful Articles
- DC Comics v. Towle, 802 F.3d 1012 (9th Cir. 2015) [pdf] [MS Word] [h20]
- Shine v. Childs, 382 F.Supp.2d 602 (2005) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands (US Supreme Court 2017) [pdf]
Discussion (February 9): The Entertainment Industry
- U.S. Copyright Office, The Music Modernization Act (December 2019)
Week 4
Lecture 4: Welfare Theory
Discussion (February 15): Information Technology
- Lotus Development Corporation v. Borland International, Inc., 49 F.3d 807 (1st Cir. 1995) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Oracle v. Google (CAFC 2014) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (February 16): Bounded Rationality
Week 5
Lecture 5: Authorship
Discussion (February 22): Multiple Authors
- 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]
Discussion (February 23): Works for Hire
- Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730 (1989) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Avtec Systems, Inc. v. Peiffer, 21 F.3d 568 (4th Cir. 1994) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 6
Lecture 6: The Mechanics of Copyright
Discussion (March 1): Copyright and Parentalism
- Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 (1990) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- New York Times Company v. Tasini, 533 U.S. 483 (2001) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (March 2): Copyright and the Constitution
- Eldred v. Ashcroft, 537 U.S.1 86 (2003) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Golan v. Holder, 2012 U.S. Lexis 907 (2012) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 7
Lecture 7: The Rights to Reproduce and Modify
Discussion (March 8): “Probative Similarity” and “Substantial Similarity”
- 17 U.S.C. 106
- Three Boys Music Corp. v. Michael Bolton, 212 F.3d 477 (9th Cir. 2000) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- 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]
Discussion (March 9): Derivative Works
- Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group, Inc., 150 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 1998): paragraphs 11-58 [pdf][MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- Lee v. A.R.T. Company, 125 F.3d 580 (7th Cir. 1997) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Micro Star v. FormGen Inc., 154 F.3d 1107 (9th Cir. 1998) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 8
Lecture 8: The Rights to Distribute, Perform, and Display
Discussion (March 22): Distribution and First Sale
- Hotaling v. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 118 F.3d 199 (4th Cir. 1997) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons (U.S. Supreme Court, March 19, 2013) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (March 23): Performances and Displays
- American Broadcasting Companies v. Aereo, Inc., 134 S.Ct. 2498 (2014) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Perfect 10 v. Amazon, 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2007): paragraphs 1-65 [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Week 9
Lecture 9: Fair Use and Misuse
Discussion (March 29): Fair Use, Part 1
- 17 U.S.C. 107
- Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group, Inc., 150 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 1998): paragraphs 60-95 [pdf][MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- Perfect 10 v. Amazon, 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2007): paragraphs 67-91 [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (March 30): Fair Use, Part 2
- Gaylord v. United States, 595 F.3d 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2010) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o] [Illustrations]
- Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith (2d Cir. 2021) [pdf]
- Authors Guild v. Google, 804 F.3d 202 (2d Cir. 2015) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Oracle v. Google (CAFC 2018) [pdf]
- Google v. Oracle (SCOTUS 2021) [pdf] [MSWord]
Week 10
Lecture 10: Cultural Theory
Discussion (April 5): Moral Rights in the United States
- 17 U.S.C. 106A
- Sophie Grais, “The Story of 5Pointz” (2021) [pdf]
- Castillo v. G&M Realty (2d Cir. 2020) [pdf]
Discussion (April 6): Traditional Knowledge
Week 11
Lecture 11: Supplements to Copyright: Secondary Liability and Para-copyright
Discussion (April 12): Secondary Liability
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. v. Grokster, 545 U.S. 913 (2005) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Perfect 10 v. Amazon, 508 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 2007): paragraphs 94-131 [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Viacom v. YouTube, 676 F.3d 19 (CA2 2012) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (April 13): Technological Protection Measures
- Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley, 273 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2001) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- 37 C.F.R 201.40 (2018) [pdf]
Week 12
Lecture 12: Remedies
Discussion (April 20): Damages
- 17 U.S.C. 504, 505
- Frank Music Corp. v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., 886 F.2d 1545 (9th Cir. 1989) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
- Fantasy, Inc. v. Fogerty, 94 F.3d 553 (9th Cir. 1996) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
Discussion (April 21): Injunctions and Crimes
- 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]
Last modified: October 31, 2020