COPYRIGHT - M02T03

Idea Expression Dichotomy

• Copyright protects original expression but not the underlying ideas. This distinction aims to balance the rights of creators with the public's interest in using and building upon ideas.

• The challenge lies in distinguishing between protected expression and unprotected ideas, as this determination is often subjective and fact-dependent.

Elements Not Protected by Copyright

• Ideas and facts themselves are not copyrightable. Copyright law seeks to prevent the monopolization of knowledge and information.

  • However, the protectability of facts often depends on their derivation. If a fact is discovered through original research or involves significant creative effort, it may be subject to protection.

Types of Fact-Based Works

• The market value of a car based on opinion is considered protected expression because it involves creator choice or judgment. This contrasts with purely factual data.

• Recipe lists and chronological dates are generally unprotected because they lack expression and originality. These are considered basic factual compilations.

• Computer code is not a fact but presents challenges due to its functional nature; some code can be protected. The functional aspects of code are often subject to patent law, while the expressive elements are covered by copyright.

Choice and Judgment

• If a creator makes choices or exercises judgment in establishing facts, those facts may be considered protectable expression. This principle acknowledges the creative input involved in selecting and arranging factual information.

Recipes

• Recipe lists of ingredients or chronological dates are often considered quintessential examples of potentially unprotectable works because they lack expression. This is because they are seen as straightforward lists of information.

• Some cases define a recipe as a process that consequently lacks any protection. This perspective views recipes as functional instructions rather than expressive works.

Computer Code

• Computer code is not a fact under copyright, but it falls within the challenge of the idea expression dichotomy because of its functional nature. This duality requires courts to carefully distinguish between the functional and expressive aspects of code.

Facts and Copyright Protection

• A work composed of facts may still be subject to copyright protection if it contains an original arrangement, selection, or coordination of those facts. This is known as a compilation copyright, which protects the creative choices made in assembling factual data.

• Copyright does not prevent others from using non-protected elements like facts, ideas, processes, and systems. This ensures that copyright law does not stifle innovation or limit access to fundamental knowledge.

Depiction of Nature

• The appearance of naturally occurring elements is not protected. For example, one can't prevent others from sculpting jellyfish, provided they don't copy the original artist's work. This principle prevents the monopolization of natural forms and phenomena.

Thin Copyright

• Compilations of facts receive what is often referred to as a 'thin copyright'. This means that the scope of protection is limited.

• Only virtually identical reproductions are prohibited if you have a thin copyright. This reflects the limited creative effort involved in compiling facts.

Accounting Forms and Baker v. Selden

• Functional forms may not be copyrightable if they lack elements of choice or expression. The seminal case of Baker v. Selden established this principle.

• Blank forms that do not convey information are not copyrightable. This is because they are seen as tools rather than expressive works.

Compendium of Copyright Office Practices

• The Compendium of Copyright Office Practices is an administrative manual about the copyright office's practice.

• It can be cited as an authority in procedures before the copyright office and before the courts. This provides a standardized reference for copyright practices.

Code of Federal Regulations

• Section 202.1 of Title 37 of the Code of Federal Register is another source for information on diverse copyright protection issues. This regulation provides specific guidance on what types of works are eligible for copyright protection.

• When it comes to copyright protection for forms, the dividing line is whether the forms themselves convey information. If a form merely provides a template for recording data, it is unlikely to be protected.

Forms that Convey Information

• Insurance policies that contain information regarding policy choices and discretionary language are copyrightable. These policies contain expressive elements that go beyond mere factual data.

Processes and Copyright

• Copyright does not protect processes, but the explanation of a system in a book is protected; copying the explanation is prohibited, while practicing the system is allowed. This distinction ensures that copyright law does not hinder the implementation of useful systems or methods.

Use of the Art

• Copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the use of that idea. This fundamental principle underlies much of copyright law.

• One can practice a described art without violating copyright in the book that describes it. This allows for the free use of ideas and concepts.

Fashion Industry Example

• Manufacturing and selling a dress based on a copyrighted painting without authorization is a copyright violation. This illustrates how copyright law applies to derivative works in the fashion industry.

Lotus Development Corp v. Borland

• The description of the art in a book, though entitled to the benefit of copyright, lays no foundation for an exclusive claim to the art itself. This confirms that copyright protects expression, not the underlying functionality.

Creative Lawyering

• Baker v Selden decision is a creative lawyering situation. This highlights the role of legal interpretation in shaping copyright law.

• Good lawyering doesn't always represent a win. This acknowledges that legal strategies can be complex and may not always achieve the desired outcome.

Idea Expression Dichotomy in Artistic Works

• The idea expression dichotomy applies to artistic works, such as jeweled bee pins. This illustrates the broad applicability of this principle.

Herbert Rosenthal Jewelry Corp versus Kalpakian

• The court held that the jeweled b pin was an idea and that the defendants were free to copy that idea. This case demonstrates the difficulty of protecting simple artistic designs.

Doctrine of Merger

• When the idea and its expression are inseparable, copying the expression will not be barred. This is known as the doctrine of merger, which prevents copyright protection from stifling creativity.

Avoiding Merger

• There is no clear number of alternative choices that would necessarily avoid the application of merger. This makes it difficult to predict when the doctrine of merger will apply.

Satava Case

• The court did not find that the idea of a glass jellyfish sculpture merged with the design. This case illustrates that even simple artistic designs can be protected by copyright.

• Elements naturally occurring in nature that are part of jellyfish sculpture are so commonplace that they're not protected under copyright. This prevents the monopolization of natural elements.

Original Research and Historical Facts

• Copyright is supposed to promote progress in science and the useful arts in connection with learning. This is the constitutional basis for copyright law.

Toksvig v. Bruce publications

• Original research was copyright protectable.

• Defendant had used plaintiff's book to create her own competing biography of Hans Christian Andersen.

• The court ultimately upheld the plaintiff's claim of copyright infringement, because it also included 24 instances of direct copying by the defendant from Tokuswig's book.

Holling case

• The holding case, involving the use of a prior historical work on the Hindenburg explosion by a script writer to create a movie that incorporated the plaintiff's new theory regarding why this famous Zeppelin exploded, represents an ongoing challenge.

Miller v Universal Studios

• The court rejected the plaintiff's claim that the research was copyright protectable.

Theories of History

• Theories of history, like processes of accounting, are not subject to capture under copyright. This ensures that historical interpretation remains free and open.

Copyright Estoppel

• If you are writing a work about history and you represent it as a fact work, you should not be allowed to backtrack and later claim that your theories were creative. This doctrine prevents authors from making inconsistent representations about the nature of their work.

Asserted Truths Doctrine

• Authors cannot claim that their historical assertions are fictional after presenting them as facts. This promotes honesty and consistency in historical writing.

Corbello versus Valle

• Similar to the other cases we have discussed, arose from a dispute regarding the unauthorized use of historical information, in this time from an unpublished autobiography by Tommy DiPieto, who was a member of the Four Seasons.

Mystery Novel Example

• The Asserted Truths collateral estoppel doctrine should not apply in this case.

Fictional Facts

• The idea expression dichotomy applies to creative or fictional facts. This extends the principles of copyright law to imaginative works.

Warner versus RDR books

• The court held that even if this expression is or can be used in its quote factual capacity, it does not follow that expression thereby takes on the status of fact and loses its copyright ability.

Monopoly Concerns

• Concerns over monopolization of facts, terms, or expressions influence copyright decisions. This is a key policy consideration in copyright law.

Early User Interface for the Delete Function

• When should merger be determined?

Clones in Video Games

• Video games present challenges regarding lawful cloning of a competitor's idea versus unlawful cloning of protectable expression. This highlights the difficulty of applying copyright law to complex digital works.

Elements on the Non-Protected Side

• Wide array of items on that unprotected side of the balance, including merged ideas and expression, sense of fair facts, principles, theories, methods, systems, and other exclusions under Section 102.