Transcript Slides from Class 1

COPYRIGHT LAW
SPRING 2003: CLASS 1
Professor Fischer
Introduction to Copyright
January 6, 2003
Welcome!
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3 Handouts:
1. Course Outline
2. Reading List
3. Copy Copyright Course Home Page
Everything is available online at:
http://faculty.cua.edu/fischer/ (click on
Copyright Law 2003)
Example of a Copyright Dispute
• Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510
U.S. 569, 114 S.Ct 1164 (1994)
• See also
http://www.benedict.com/audio/crew/crew.a
sp
Topics for Today’s Class
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1. Introduction to this Course
2. Introduction to Copyright Law
A. The basics - what’s a copyright?
B. Some historical background to copyright
law
Some Course Goals
• 1. Gain a solid grounding in the fundamentals of
current U.S. copyright law;
• 2. Learn about how U.S. copyright law has
developed over time;
• 3. Understand how U.S. copyright law operates in
the context of international intellectual property
law;
• 4. Be prepared to practice copyright law in a
future of rapidly developing technology;
• 5. Work on improving written examination
technique, especially problem questions;
• 6. Develop oral communication skills through
participation in class discussion.
• 7. Have fun while learning about copyright.
Copyright Industries – And
Possible Jobs for Lawyers
• What are the core U.S. copyright industries?
• What job possibilities exist for lawyers in
these industries?
Copyright Industries
• What are the core U.S. copyright industries?
• Motion pictures, sound recordings, music
publishing, print publishing, computer software,
theater, advertising, radio, television, cable
broadcasting
• In 1999 these industries contributed $457 billion
to the U.S. economy, or 4.9% of GDP – up from
2.2% of GDP in 1977.
• These industries also generate a large and
increasing amount of international trade –more
than any other sector of the U.S. economy!
Course Outline
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Please read carefully
Attendance
Exams/Grading/Quizzes
Contacting me: 202-319-5568 or
[email protected]
• Class Listserv - send me an e-mail ASAP –
at latest by Friday Jan. 10
• Class Participation
Reading List
• 2 required books: “COOL” Casebook Copyright
in a Global Information Economy (Cohen, Loren,
Okediji & O’Rourke (2002) and Statutory
Supplement (2002)
• PLEASE BRING BOTH TO EVERY CLASS!
• Casebook website at:
http://www.coolcopyright.com/
• Class Preparation
Copyright Law: Exciting,
Cutting-edge, and Practical
• A core subject in the intellectual property,
communications, entertainment law, and
cyberlaw fields
• Interesting because it is currently adapting
to new digital technologies
• Involves creative works including art,
music, and literature
What’s a Copyright?
•©
What’s a Copyright
• Essentially, a right of limited duration to
make copies of a given work and stop
others from making copies (and some other
acts) without the copyright owner’s
permission.
• Copyright is a bundle of exclusive rights
that exists in certain types of works
Course Units
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Copyrightabilility
• 3. Authorship and Ownership of Copyrighted
Works
• 4. Copyright Formalities and Duration of
Copyright
• 5. Rights of Copyright Owner/Copyright
Infringement
• 6. Defenses to Copyright Infringement
• 7. Additional Protections for Copyrighted Works
• 8. Copyright Litigation
• Useful summary of major topics in CB at pp. 3-6
History of Copyright Law
• Copyright law
concepts are ancient
• E.g. St. Columba and
King Diarmid “To
every cow her calf and
to every book its
copy”
Copyright Law is Technology’s
Child
• Pirating of manuscripts
not a big problem until a
technological
development: printing
press (introduced to
England by William of
Caxton in 1476)
• Rise in printed books
threatened control of
Crown and Church.
• Printers/booksellers guild
provided only limited
protection against
copying. So printers
sought greater protection.
Greater Protection
Through Censorship:
Creation of Stationers’
• Livery company in the
Company
City of London created by
http://www.stationers.org/
Royal Charter in 1557.
• Queen Mary gave
Stationers the exclusive
right to practice the art of
printing/bookselling in
• SC had power to
search/seize unauthorized
books not in their register
• SC protected printers
economic interest and
Crown censorship but not
authors
End of Stationers’ Monopoly
• SC monopoly was
continued by a series of
Licensing Acts. After the
Glorious Revolution of
1688, the royal licensing
laws expired
• Stationers tried without
success to persuade
Parliament to pass a law
giving them control over
printing
• Then the stationers
changed their tune –
argued on behalf of
authors
The First Modern Copyright
Law: The English Statute of
Anne (1710)
• The Statute of Anne
(1710) – no longer a
censorship tool
• Had many elements of
later copyright statutes
• 1. Registration
• 2. Deposit
• 3. Penalties for
Infringement
• 4. Limited duration
Copyright Law in the U.S
Constitution
Intellectual Property Clause
• U.S. Const. Art. I sec. 8 cl. 8
• The Congress shall have power . . . To
promote the Progress of Science and useful
Arts, by securing for limited Times to
Authors and Inventors the exclusive right to
their respective Writings and Discoveries
• Incorporates Statute of Anne’s purpose of
serving the public by benefiting learning