PUBP 4640: Copyrights - Part 1

Copyright

Set of exclusive rights in an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium

IP

Intellectual Property

Patents

Protects inventions, complicated subject matter, easy law

Constitution

Article I, Section 8, cl. 8: Grants Congress the power to secure exclusive rights to authors and inventors

Expression

Protected by copyright, covers anything creative, but not ideas, processes, systems, or methods

Feist case

Established that facts are not protected by copyright, only the selection and arrangement may be protected

Brandir case

Highlighted that product design influenced by utilitarian concerns may not be protected by copyright

Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands

U.S. Supreme Court case that set a new test for copyright protection of product designs

Economic rights

Include reproduction, creation of derivative works, distribution, performance, display, and digital audio transmission

Moral rights

Separate from economic rights, includes the right to attribution and the right to prevent derogatory treatment of the work

Creative Commons

User-friendly licensing system with options for attribution, noncommercial use, no derivative works, and share alike

Open Source Software

Encourages collaboration and allows monetization by selling proprietary programs that work with it

Exceptions to Copyright protection

Include first-sale and fair use, which considers purpose, nature, amount, and market effect of the use

Google v. Oracle

Legal battle over the copyrightability and fair use of APIs, with the Supreme Court finding Google's use as fair use

Georgia State e-reserves case

Legal dispute over fair use of unlicensed e-reserves, with the court ruling in favor of Georgia State in most instances

Kevin Smith

Dean of Libraries at the University of Kansas, expressed frustration over the prolonged legal proceedings of the Georgia State case

A Time to Heal

President Ford's memoir published by Harper & Row

Time Magazine

Contracted by Harper & Row for exclusive preview of A Time to Heal

The Nation

Published an article quoting 300 words about the Nixon pardon from an advance copy of A Time to Heal

Fair Use

Permissible use of copyrighted material, not applicable in this case

Public Domain

Misconception: content on the internet is free for use

Copyright Notice

Misconception: absence doesn't imply free use

Copyright Infringement

Unauthorized use of copyrighted material

Works for Hire

Exception to general rule of copyright ownership

Moral Rights

Rights of authorship and to object to distortion or derogatory action

Berne Convention

International agreement on copyright, implemented in the U.S. in 1988

Copyright Registration

Not required for copyright existence, but necessary before suing for infringement in the U.S.

Prima Facie Evidence

Evidence that is sufficient to establish a fact or raise a presumption

Statutory Damages

Monetary damages set by law

Injunction

Legal order to stop infringing

Trade Secret

Form of intellectual property with criminal penalties

Sampling

Incorporating a portion of a prior work into a new work

Derivative Works

New works based on existing copyrighted material

Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.

Case involving fair use of a parody song

Fair Use Factors

Considerations for determining fair use, including purpose, nature, amount, and market effect

Substantial Similarity

Comparison of original and copied work for copyright infringement

Defenses

Legal arguments against copyright infringement, including independent creation and fair use

Mechanical Licensing

Permission to release cover versions of commercially released songs