Chart of Assignments
Updated as of: April 24, 2023.
Back to ... Copyright Spring 2023 class webpage
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Where and When:
Thursdays & Fridays at 3:00 p.m., Classroom 1
In the reading assignments below, "F&S" refers to
Jeanne C. Fromer and Christopher Jon Sprigman, Copyright Law: Cases and Materials, version 4.0 (2022).
Day by Day:
Week No 1
WHAT IN THE HECK IS GOING ON WITH THIS WEEK?
I will be out of town on our class days for the first two weeks of the semester. It's two different trips, and they are both for work. At any rate, the timing is awful -- extremely inconvenient -- and I sincerely apologize. To deal with this, I will be holding live make-ahead sessions on Tuesday, January 17 and Tuesday, January 24. These will be recorded on video, with the videos shown during the scheduled class times. Depending on your preference and personal convenience, for each class attend either the live make-ahead session or the regularly scheduled session which will have video-playback.
TUESDAY January 17 No 1 & 2 OPTIONAL
Optional live make-ahead double-session starting at 4:40 p.m. in Classroom 1
At 4:40 p.m. in Classroom 1, I will hold two optional-to-attend back-to-back "make ahead" (cf. "make up") class sessions corresponding to classes nos. 1 and 2 scheduled for Thursday and Friday (see below). You do not have to attend. But attending an optional session obviates your obligation to attend the corresponding regularly scheduled class later in the week. These sessions will be recorded to video, and the videos will be played back at the corresponding regularly scheduled sessions.
For these Tuesday evening sessions, feel free to bring snacks or dinner, but in consideration of your fellow students and our relatively small and not well-ventilated classroom, please consider bringing something that does not involve pungent odor or loud crunching sounds.
I won't cold call on anyone. So if you don't get the reading done ahead of the live make-ahead sessions, it's not a problem as far as I am concerned. But I will take volunteers, and I will take questions. Be aware that the session will be recorded by video and audio, and the recording may be made available on Canvas or another platform.
For readings, see below.
THURSDAY January 19 No 1
On this day at this time class will be shown a video of the previously recorded live make-ahead session of this class.
1. About the Course
No reading required for this for today.
2. Intellectual Property Law in General: Overall Context and Considerations
FRIDAY January 20 No 2
On this day at this time class will be shown a video of the previously recorded live make-ahead session of this class.
1. About the Course, continued
Read the Syllabus [pdf]
2. Intellectual Property Law: General Overview and Considerations, continued
No additional reading.
3. Copyright Fundamentals, Sources, and Authorities
Read F&S I.A & I.B, pp 1-6.
4. Copyright History and Theory
Read F&S I.C & I.D, pp 6-16.
Week No 2
NO CLASSES THIS WEEK ...
Since I am out of town on a work trip Thursday and Friday of this week, the original plan was to run this week like last week, with live make-ahead sessions on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 24 and video playback during the regularly scheduled sessions on Thursday and Friday. But because of the closure of campus on Tuesday, January 24, that does not make sense. The whole point of the live make-ahead sessions was to have in-person instructional time. Doing a zoom session in order to record a video for later playback in class would be, in my view, pointless. So we'll write this week off, shift the reading to next week, and we'll look forward to a normal week next week.
TUESDAY January 24
Nothing going on 1/24 -- nothing online, nothing in-person.
THURSDAY January 26
Class canceled. That is, no class 1/26 -- nothing online, nothing in-person.
FRIDAY January 27
Class canceled. That is, no class 1/27 -- nothing online, nothing in-person.
Week No 3
THURSDAY February 2 No 3
For the avoidance of doubt: Today will be a normal, live, in-person class!
4. Copyright History and Theory, continued
No additional reading
5. Fixation
Read F&S II.A, pp 17-26.
FRIDAY February 3 No 4
For the avoidance of doubt: Today will be a normal, live, in-person class!
5. Fixation, continued
No additional reading.
6. Originality
Read F&S II.B, pp 26-31.
Week No 4
THURSDAY February 9 No 5
6. Originality, continued
Read F&S II.B, pp 31-44.
FRIDAY February 10 No 6
7. Derivative Works and Compilations
Read F&S II.C, pp 44-59.
Week No 5
THURSDAY February 16 No 7
8. Idea-Expression Distinction
Read F&S II.D, pp 59-75.
FRIDAY February 17 No 8
9. Copyrightable Subject Matter
Read portion of F&S II.E over pp 76-100.
Week No 6
THURSDAY February 23 No 9
9. Copyrightable Subject Matter, continued
Read portion of F&S II.E over pp 101-129 (concerns software).
FRIDAY February 24 No 10
9. Copyrightable Subject Matter, continued
Read portion of F&S II.E over pp 129-135 (concerns architecture).
10. Authorship and Ownership Basics
Read F&S III. preamble, pp 137.
11. The Definition of Authorship
Read F&S III.A, pp 137-144.
Week No 7
THURSDAY March 2 No 11
11. The Definition of Authorship, continued
I will have some remarks about Read F&S III.A, pp 139-144, and I will take questions about it. But please do not feel compelled to re-read that, however, as I will not be asking any questions today about those pages.
12. Authorship and Ownership in Joint Works
Read F&S III.B, pp 144-151.
13. Authorship and Ownership in Works Made for Hire
Read F&S III.C, pp 151-162.
FRIDAY March 3 No 12
14. Formalities
Read F&S IV.A, pp 163-177.
15. Duration
Read F&S IV.B, pp 177-183.
Week No 8
THURSDAY March 9 No 13
15. Duration, continued
Read F&S IV.B, pp 183-193.
Read F&S IV.B, pp 193-201.
FRIDAY March 10 No 14
15. Duration, continued
No additional reading beyond what was read for the last class session.
16. Renewals
Read F&S IV.C., pp 201-208.
17. Terminations of Transfer
Read F&S IV.D., pp 208-211.
Spring Break
THURSDAY March 16
Spring Break - no class
FRIDAY March 17
Spring Break - no class
Week No 9
THURSDAY March 23 No 15
16. Renewals, continued
No additional reading.
17. Terminations of Transfer, continued
No additional reading.
Special topic: Mid-semester Review
You are encouraged to review your notes.
FRIDAY March 24 No 16
18. Exclusive Rights Basics and Infringement Elements
Read F&S V. preambular material and V.A., pp 213-214.
19. Reproduction Right
Read F&S V.B portion over pp 214-225.
Week No 10
THURSDAY March 30 No 17
19. Reproduction Right, continued
Read F&S V.B portion over pp 225-265 (stop at Notes).
FRIDAY March 31 No 18
20.Distribution (and Importation) Rights; First Sale Doctrine
Read F&S V.C portion over pp 270-289.
21. Right to Prepare Derivative Works
Read F&S V.D portion over pp 289-301; 306-309
Week No 11
THURSDAY April 6 No 19
20.Distribution (and Importation) Rights; First Sale Doctrine, continued
No new reading.
21. Right to Prepare Derivative Works, continued
No new reading.
22. Fictional Characters and the Rights of Reproduction and to Prepare Derivative Works
Read F&S V.E portion over pp 309-317.
23. Moral Rights
Read F&S V.F portion over pp 330-339.
FRIDAY April 7 No 20
24. The Rights of Public Performance and Public Display
Read F&S V.G portion over pp 339-344; 348-356
25. Music and Copyright
Read F&S portion over pp 364-374.
Week No 12
THURSDAY April 13 No 21
25. Music and Copyright, continued
No new reading.
26. Fair Use Basics
Read F&S VI portion over pp 389-390.
27. Fair Use Foundational Cases
Read F&S VI.A. portion over pp 398-408 (the Betamax case).
FRIDAY April 14 No 22
28. Fair Use Contemporary Cases: What is Transformativeness?
Read F&S VI.B. portion over pp 419-425 (Bill Graham v. DK), 441-450 (Cambridge Univ. Press v. Patton), 463-482 (Google v. Oracle).
Week No 13
THURSDAY April 20 No 23
26, 27 & 28. Fair Use, continued
Exercise: Assume you have a summer internship with a non-profit legal aid organization. The organization is undertaking a project to help attorneys employed outside their organization who want to do pro bono work involving copyright. The idea is to provide pro bono representation to not-super-well-resourced persons who have received demand letters from copyright owners. The not-super-well-resourced persons they have in mind are individuals, educators, and very small businesses that put content online, including blogs, videos, podcasts, websites, small/niche software applications, useful pieces of source code for DIY software development, etc. The sorts of demand-letter senders they have in mind are big and small content owners -- including entities that own copyrights in journalistic and scholarly articles, photographs, musical compositions, sound recordings, software titles and so forth. The organization wants you to help create a sort of quick manual or cheat sheet to help pro bono attorneys draft letters responding to the demand letters by making a vigorous argument that the client's reproduction of copyrighted works is protected as fair use. Please go back through the fair use cases we read -- Sony v. Universal (the Betamax case), Bill Graham v. DK, Cambridge Univ Press v. Patton (the Georgia State case), and Google v. Oracle. Distill four or five useful things from those cases that could contribute to the manual/cheat-sheet. Aim for at least one statement along the lines of "the argument that _______ was rejected in the case of _______"; one statement along the lines of "the case of _______ held that _______ tilts strongly in favor of fair use"; and one case quote that makes for really strong pro-fair-use language. When doing this, really think about the stated goal and aim for stuff that would be truly useful in this scenario.
29. Volition as an Element of Direct Liability
No reading for this topic.
30.Secondary Liability
Read F&S Chapter VII portion over pp 514-517.
FRIDAY April 21 No 24
31. Liability of Online Service Providers, and Section 512 Safe Harbors
Read F&S Chapter VII portion over pp 529-555.
32. Liability of Device Manufacturers
Read F&S Chapter VII portion over pp 555-557 (stop at the dissent).
Week No 14
WEDNESDAY April 26 Special Evening Session
Review
We will have a special review session in the evening. It will be video recorded.
You don't have attend in person; you can just watch the video.
If you want to attend live: We'll be in Classroom 1, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Then, weather permitting, we'll go outside for informal discussion of copyright law and listen to sound recordings that owe their existence to §115 and/or musical compositions involved in infringement disputes.
We'll use portions of two old exams for practice: Hydroponic Warfare (Questions 1 and 3) [pdf] and 1UP (Subpart A) [pdf]. We will only be analyzing these exam issues with regard to copyright. I suggest looking over these exam questions and sketching out a response before coming to the special session or watching the recording.
THURSDAY April 27 No 25
33. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Read F&S VIII.A., pp 577-578.
34. Statute of Limitations
Read F&S VIII.B., pp 578-579.
35. Standing
Read F&S VIII.C., pp 579-581.
36. Judicial Deference to the Copyright Office
Read F&S VIII.C., pp 581-582.
37. Remedies
Read F&S VIII.D. portion over pp 582-583, 589-590, 604-607.
38. Small Claims Proceedings Before the Copyright Claims Board
No reading for this topic.
39. Criminal Copyright Law
No reading for this topic.
FRIDAY April 28 No 26
40-42. Technological Controls and Protections, including the The Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Note: Topics 40 through 42 have been combined and will be covered in summary fashion.
No reading.
43-45. Copyright Transactions: Transfers, Licensing, and Misuse
Note: Topics 43 through 45 have been combined and will be covered in summary fashion.
No reading.
46-47. State Law, Preemption, and International Copyright
Note: Topics 46 and 47 have been combined and will be covered in summary fashion.
No reading.
Topic by Topic:
PART I: Preliminaries
1. About the Course
Read the Syllabus [pdf]
2. Intellectual Property Law in General: Overall Context and Considerations
3. Copyright Fundamentals, Sources, and Authorities
Read F&S I.A & I.B, pp 1-6.
4. Copyright History and Theory
Read F&S I.C & I.D, pp 6-16.
PART II. The Subject Matter of Copyright
5. Fixation
Read F&S II.A, pp 17-26.
6. Originality
Read F&S II.B, pp 26-44.
7. Derivative Works and Compilations
Read F&S II.C, pp 44-59.
8. Idea-Expression Distinction
Read F&S II.D, pp 59-75.
9. Copyrightable Subject Matter
Read F&S II.E, pp 76-135.
PART III. Authorship and Ownership
10. Authorship and Ownership Basics
Read F&S III. preamble, pp 137.
11. The Definition of Authorship
Read F&S III.A, pp 137-144.
12. Authorship and Ownership in Joint Works
Read F&S III.B, pp 144-151.
13. Authorship and Ownership in Works Made for Hire
Read F&S III.C, pp 151-162.
PART IV. Copyright Formalities and Duration
14. Formalities
Read F&S IV.A, pp 163-177.
15. Duration
Read F&S IV.B, pp 177-183.
Read F&S IV.B, pp 183-193.
Read F&S IV.B, pp 193-201.
16. Renewals
Read F&S IV.C., pp 201-208.
17. Terminations of Transfer
Read F&S IV.D., pp 208-211.
PART V. Copyright’s Exclusive Rights; Infringement
18. Exclusive Rights Basics and Infringement Elements
Read F&S V. preambular material and V.A., pp 213-214.
19. Reproduction Right
Read F&S V.B portion over pp 214-225.
Read F&S V.B portion over pp 225-265 (stop at Notes).
20.Distribution (and Importation) Rights; First Sale Doctrine
Read F&S V.C portion over pp 270-289.
21. Right to Prepare Derivative Works
Read F&S V.D portion over pp 289-301; 306-309
22. Fictional Characters and the Rights of Reproduction and to Prepare Derivative Works
Read F&S V.E portion over pp 309-317.
23. Moral Rights
Read F&S V.F portion over pp 330-339.
24. The Rights of Public Performance and Public Display
Read F&S V.G portion over pp 339-344; 348-356
PART V.bis Music and Copyright
25. Music and Copyright
Read F&S portion over pp 364-374.
PART VI. Fair Use
26. Fair Use Basics
Read F&S VI portion over pp 389-390.
27. Fair Use Foundational Cases
Read F&S VI.A. portion over pp 398-408 (the Betamax case).
28. Fair Use Contemporary Cases: What is Transformativeness?
Read F&S VI.B. portion over pp 419-425 (Bill Graham v. DK), 441-450 (Cambridge Univ. Press v. Patton), 463-482 (Google v. Oracle).
26, 27 & 28. Fair Use -- Exercise
Exercise: Assume you have a summer internship with a non-profit legal aid organization. The organization is undertaking a project to help attorneys employed outside their organization who want to do pro bono work involving copyright. The idea is to provide pro bono representation to not-super-well-resourced persons who have received demand letters from copyright owners. The not-super-well-resourced persons they have in mind are individuals, educators, and very small businesses that put content online, including blogs, videos, podcasts, websites, small/niche software applications, useful pieces of source code for DIY software development, etc. The sorts of demand-letter senders they have in mind are big and small content owners -- including entities that own copyrights in journalistic and scholarly articles, photographs, musical compositions, sound recordings, software titles and so forth. The organization wants you to help create a sort of quick manual or cheat sheet to help pro bono attorneys draft letters responding to the demand letters by making a vigorous argument that the client's reproduction of copyrighted works is protected as fair use. Please go back through the fair use cases we read -- Sony v. Universal (the Betamax case), Bill Graham v. DK, Cambridge Univ Press v. Patton (the Georgia State case), and Google v. Oracle. Distill four or five useful things from those cases that could contribute to the manual/cheat-sheet. Aim for at least one statement along the lines of "the argument that _______ was rejected in the case of _______"; one statement along the lines of "the case of _______ held that _______ tilts strongly in favor of fair use"; and one case quote that makes for really strong pro-fair-use language. When doing this, really think about the stated goal and aim for stuff that would be truly useful in this scenario.
PART VII. Direct and Secondary Liability
29. Volition as an Element of Direct Liability
No reading for this topic.
30.Secondary Liability
Read F&S Chapter VII portion over pp 514-517.
31. Liability of Online Service Providers, and Section 512 Safe Harbors
Read F&S Chapter VII portion over pp 529-555.
32. Liability of Device Manufacturers
Read F&S Chapter VII portion over pp 555-557 (stop at the dissent).
PART VIII. Copyright Litigation and Remedies
33. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Read F&S VIII.A., pp 577-578.
34. Statute of Limitations
Read F&S VIII.B., pp 578-579.
35. Standing
Read F&S VIII.C., pp 579-581.
36. Judicial Deference to the Copyright Office
Read F&S VIII.C., pp 581-582.
37. Remedies
Read F&S VIII.D. portion over pp 582-583, 589-590, 604-607.
38. Small Claims Proceedings Before the Copyright Claims Board
No reading for this topic.
39. Criminal Copyright Law
No reading for this topic.
PART IX. Technological Controls and Protections
40-42. Technological Controls and Protections, including the The Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Note: Topics 40 through 42 have been combined and will be covered in summary fashion.
No reading.
PART X. Copyright Transactions
43-45. Copyright Transactions: Transfers, Licensing, and Misuse
Note: Topics 43 through 45 have been combined and will be covered in summary fashion.
No reading.
PART XI. Copyright Beyond Federal Law
46-47. State Law, Preemption, and International Copyright
Note: Topics 46 and 47 have been combined and will be covered in summary fashion.
No reading.
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Copyright 2023 Eric E. Johnson. Konomark - Most rights sharable.