COPYRIGHT LAW 2004COPYRIGHT LAW 2004

PROFESSOR FISCHER

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

FEB 4, 2004

WRAP-UPWRAP-UP

• Fixation

• Copyrightability of Compilations

FairnessFairness

• Feist CB p. 121: “It may seem unfair that much of the fruit of the compiler’s labor may be used by others without compensation”

• Do you agree?

CCC Information Services v. CCC Information Services v. Maclean Hunter Maclean Hunter

• Copyrightability of the Automobile Red Book – Official Used Car Valuations

BellSouth Advertising v. BellSouth Advertising v. Donnelley CB p. 153Donnelley CB p. 153

• Describe the reasoning of the lone dissenting judge?

• Who is right, in your opinion, the majority or the ?

HypoHypo

• Emily makes five plastic signs. Two say “For Sale” and three say “For Rent”. She arranges them in order of descending size and packages them as a set. She argues that they are copyrightable as a compilation.

• Should this argument succeed? Why or why not?

Another HypoAnother Hypo

• Jon compiles a list of all 50 states. Can she argue that her list is copyrightable?

• What if Jon compiles a list of the 12 states containing the best dressed models? Does it matter if Jon arranges the states in alphabetical order?

HYPO: FURNITURE DESIGNSHYPO: FURNITURE DESIGNS

• Can an arrangement of furniture in a showroom be copyrightable?

• See Baldine v. Furniture Comfort Corp., 956 F. Supp. 580 (M.D.N.C. 1996)

OTHER KINDS OF OTHER KINDS OF COMPILATIONSCOMPILATIONS

• Can a greeting card be copyrightable as a compilation? See Roth v. United Card Co., 429 F.2d 1106 (9th Cir. 1970)

• Can a T-shirt be copyrightable as a compilation? See Matthews v. Freeman, 157 F.3d 25 (1st Cir. 1998) p. 139 CB

• Can a videogame be copyrightable as a compilation? Atari v. Oman, 979 F.2d 242 (D.C. Cir. 1992) p. 138 CB

COPYRIGHT IN FACTUAL COPYRIGHT IN FACTUAL NARRATIVESNARRATIVES

• To what extent are historical facts copyrightable?

Nash v. CBS CB p. 129Nash v. CBS CB p. 129

• Extent of Copyright in historical facts?

• Extent of Copyright in works of history?

Wainwright Securities CB p. 133Wainwright Securities CB p. 133

• Copyright protection of news events?

• Overprotection?

Sui Generis Protection for Sui Generis Protection for Databases?Databases?

• European Union database directive

• Proposed U.S. federal legislation protecting databases – e.g. H.R. 354 (106th Congress), H.R.

• Is there a need for this due to “thin” copyright protection after Feist?