Harvard Law School: Copyright Law 2024

All of the assigned readings are available online through the links in the syllabus, below. Most of the readings are also available in printed form in two paperback volumes (from Amazon, for a total of $25), by using the following links:  Volume 1; Volume 2.   

Week 1

Lecture 1: The Foundations of Copyright Law

Discussion (January 22): Originality

• 17 U.S.C. 102(a)
• Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Co., 188 U.S. 239 (1903) [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]
• “Generative AI exists because of the transformer,” Financial Times, September 12, 2023
• Second Request for Reconsideration for Refusal to Register SURYAST (Copyright Review Board, December 11, 2023) [pdf]

Discussion (January 23): 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]
• Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991) [pdf][MS Word][h2o]

Week 2

Lecture 2: Fairness and Personality Theories

Discussion (January 29): 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]

Discussion (January 30):  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 5): 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 6): The Music Business

• U.S. Copyright Office, The Music Modernization Act (December 2019)
• Ben Sisario, “A $550 Million Springsteen Deal? It’s Glory Days for Catalog Sales,” New York Times, December 20, 2021

Week 4

Lecture 4: Welfare Theory

Discussion (February 12): Information Technology

• Lotus Development Corporation v. Borland International, Inc., 49 F.3d 807 (1st Cir. 1995) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
• Google v. Oracle (SCOTUS 2021), paragraphs 1-49, 107-125 [pdf] [MSWord]

Discussion (February 13): Bounded Rationality

• Jolls, Sunstein, and Thaler, A Behavioral Approach to Law and Economics, pp. 1471-1489

Week 5

Lecture 5: Authorship

Discussion (February 19): 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 20): 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 (February 26): 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 (February 27): 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 4): “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 5): 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 18): 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 19): 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 25): 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 26): Fair Use, Part 2

• Cariou v. Prince, 713 F.3d 694 (2d Cir. 2013) [pdf] [MSWord]
• Authors Guild v. Google, 804 F.3d 202 (2d Cir. 2015) [pdf] [MS Word] [h2o]
• Google v. Oracle (SCOTUS 2021), paragraphs 50-106, 126-163 [pdf] [MSWord]
• Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith (SCOTUS 2023) [pdf] [MSWord]

Week 10

Lecture 10: Cultural Theory

Discussion (April 1): 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] [MSWord]

Discussion (April 2): Traditional Knowledge

• William Fisher, “The Puzzle of Traditional Knowledge,” 67 Duke Law Journal 1511 (2018)

Week 11

Lecture 11: Supplements to Copyright: Secondary Liability and Para-copyright

Discussion (April 8): 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 9): 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 (2021) [pdf] [MSWord]

Week 12

Lecture 12: Remedies

Discussion (April 15): 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 16): 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]

Guidelines for Class Discussions

Slides Presented in Class

• Week 1:
  • January 22
  • January 23
• Week 2:
  • CX037 Ecce Homo
  • CX017 Modifications
  • CX016 Frozen
• Week 3:
  • CX234 Choreography
  • CX235 Tattoos
  • CX167 Star Athletic
• Weeks 4:
  • CX168 Music
  • CX028 Lotus
• Week 5:
  • CX005 Selena
  • CX237 Ownership
• Week 6:
  • CX116 Abend
  • CX061 12 Monkeys
  • CX127 Prince
  • CX241 Protective Provisions
  • CX242 Eldred & Golan
• Week 7:
  • CX096 Takeall
  • CX191 Substantial Similarity
• Week 8:
  • CX117 Sandcastles
  • CX008 Redigi
  • CX083 Fox v. Dish
• Week 9:
  • CX010 Wind Done Gone
  • CX025 Cat not in the Hat
  • CX064 Seltzer
  • CX184 White
  • CX193 MGM
  • CX251 Gaylord
• Week 10
  • Oracle
  • Warhol
  • CX123 Calder
  • CX256 Fearless Girl
  • CX163 5Pointz
• Week 11:
  • Doctrinal Implications of Copyright Theories
• Week 12:
  • CX115 Snowman

Last modified: April 15, 2024