IP Outline Complete.docx

7/27/2019 IP Outline Complete.docx

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Table of Contents

I. ................................................................................................................................................... 13

II. C------Final......................................................................................................................... 13A) Issue spotters .......................................................................................................................... 13

1. Know hard and easy issues; dont waste too much space on easy issues.................. 13B) Normative questions ............................................................................................................. 13

1. Know the theories that underlie the law. ................................................................................ 13

2. Dont just recapitulate the same theories rehashed in class do something

creative and original. ................................................................................................................................. 13

III. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 13A) Covers four general areas ................................................................................................... 13

1. Copyright law ...................................................................................................................................... 13

2. Patent law ............................................................................................................................................. 133. Trademark and unfair competition ........................................................................................... 13

4. Ancillary state doctrines ................................................................................................................. 13

B) Juxtaposition ............................................................................................................................ 14

1. Understand each of the areas better if you see them juxtaposed.................................. 14

2. See them overlap in the internet, software, industrial designs, etc. ............................. 14

C) Theories of intellectual property ..................................................................................... 14

1. Labor-Desert theories ...................................................................................................................... 14

2. Utilitarian theories ............................................................................................................................ 16

3. Personality theories ......................................................................................................................... 16

4. Social planning theories .................................................................................................................. 16

IV. What May Be Copyrighted? ....................................................................................... 16

A) Generally ................................................................................................................................... 161. Copyright does not protect the physical work, but the ideas expressed in a

tangible medium of expression ............................................................................................................. 16

2. Protected creations ........................................................................................................................... 16

3. Unprotected creations ..................................................................................................................... 18

4. Must be fixed in a tangible medium of expression .............................................................. 19

5. Impermissible forms of expression for copyright protection ......................................... 19

6. Characteristics notrequired for protection ............................................................................ 19

B) Copyright Protection for Fictional Characters ............................................................ 19

1. A well-developed fictional character is protected independent of the work in

which that character appears ................................................................................................................ 19

2. Evolution ............................................................................................................................................... 19

3. Field began in a sense with a dispute over Sam Spade (Maltese Falcon)................... 20

4. Examples ............................................................................................................................................... 20

5. In class exercise Bond-like Honda commercial ................................................................. 20

6. Parodies and advertisements ....................................................................................................... 22

C) Architecture ............................................................................................................................. 22

1. Before 1990, copyright protection for architecture was just a subset of protections

for 3-D objects as a whole (i.e., sculpture) ........................................................................................ 22

2. Damages largely assessed by what a reasonable royalty would have been ............. 22


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3. The way in which architects work, and are selected for jobs, means that the more

distinctive their work is, the better off they are. Creates a need for IP protection. ....... 22

D) Hypothetical ............................................................................................................................. 22

1. Fisher takes a photo on fully automatic settings (more or less random) and create

an amateur greeting card. Send it to a friend, who goes to the same place and frames a

similar photo, sells it to Hallmark for ten grand. What rights do Fisher have? ................ 22

E) Originality and Creativity .................................................................................................... 231. Possible meanings of originality ................................................................................................. 23

2. Sheldon v. Metro-Goldwyn ............................................................................................................... 24

3. Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Co. .................................................................................. 25

4. Feist v. Rural Telephone Co. ............................................................................................................ 25

5. Franklin Mint....................................................................................................................................... 25

6. Scale models ........................................................................................................................................ 26

F) Ideas, Facts, and Expression ............................................................................................... 26

1. Methods and systems are not copyrightable ......................................................................... 26

2. Facts and ideas are not copyrightable ...................................................................................... 26

3. Merger doctrine ................................................................................................................................. 27

4. Historical Facts and Research: ..................................................................................................... 28

5. Plots ......................................................................................................................................................... 28

G) Fixation and Formalities ..................................................................................................... 29

1. H.R. Rep. No. 94-1476 (1976) (re: Copyright Act of 1976) .............................................. 29

2. Formalities ........................................................................................................................................... 29

V. Who is the Copyright Owner? .................................................................................... 30A) Title 17 ....................................................................................................................................... 30

1. 17 U.S.C. secs. 201, 202, 203, 204, 205..................................................................................... 30

B) Works for Hire ......................................................................................................................... 30

1. Community for Creative Non-Violence et al. v. Reid (1989) ............................................ 30

2. A work is for hire if it is ............................................................................................................... 31

3. Copyright law overrides contract law; you cant contract to make a work a work

for hire unless it is one of the 9 types of work. ............................................................................... 324. Significance of designation as a work for hire:...................................................................... 32

5. Joint works ........................................................................................................................................... 32

6. Collective works ................................................................................................................................. 33

7. Testing the doctrine ......................................................................................................................... 33

C) Division and Transfer of Copyright.................................................................................. 35

1. Previously ............................................................................................................................................. 35

2. Currently ............................................................................................................................................... 35

D) Termination of Transfers (MMLJ 407): .......................................................................... 35

1. 1909 Act: Authors could reclaim copyright interests at renewal.................................. 35

2. 1976 act ................................................................................................................................................. 35

E) Problems ................................................................................................................................... 35

1. Oklahoma Natural Gas v. Larue (1998) .................................................................................... 352. Casebooks prepared by professors ............................................................................................ 37

3. Thomas v. Larson (1998) ............................................................................................................... 37

F) The Ideology of Creativity ................................................................................................... 38

1. Martha Woodmansee On the Author Effect: Recovering Collectivity...................... 38

2. Peter Jazsi Toward a Theory of Copyright: The Metamorphoses of Authorship. 39

VI. What Rights are Encompassed by Copyright Ownership? ............................. 39A) Statutory entitlements and infringements thereof ................................................... 39


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1. Structure of the statute ................................................................................................................... 39

2. 17 U.S.C. 106grants exclusive rights ..................................................................................... 39

3. Arnstein v. Porter (1946) ............................................................................................................... 42

4. Steinberg v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. (1987) ..................................................... 42

5. Limitations on the exclusive right to copy .............................................................................. 43

6. Goldstein: Derivative Rights and Derivative Works .......................................................... 44

7. Midway Mfg. Co. v. Artic International, Inc. (1983) ............................................................. 448. Litchfield v. Spielberg (1984) ....................................................................................................... 45

9. Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. LAnza Research International (1998)................... 4510. Mirage Editions v. Albuquerque A.R.T. Co. ........................................................................... 45

B) Copyright in music ................................................................................................................. 46

1. Object of protection .......................................................................................................................... 46

2. Exceptions and limitations ............................................................................................................ 46

C) Public performance and display rights .......................................................................... 50

1. Copyright owners have an exclusive right to performance and display; for profitrequirement has been stricken. ............................................................................................................ 50

2. Architecture isnt covered by display, and performance coverage is limited for

sound recordings. ........................................................................................................................................ 50

3. Any physical act taken to make a work perceivable to the viewer or listener, or

cause a work to be reproduced (even in a transient, temporary form) is a performance.

50

4. Owners of a copy are allowed to show it to viewers present at the place where the

copy is located a gallery showing is OK, a movie performance is not. ............................... 50

5. Publicly means ................................................................................................................................ 50

D) Contributory infringement ................................................................................................. 50

1. Encouraging or assisting a third party to infringe a copyright ...................................... 50

2. Requires knowledge, whether actual or constructive, of the infringement .............. 50

E) Digital piracy ............................................................................................................................ 50

1. Audio Home Recording Rights Act of 1992 ............................................................................ 50

2. Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998............................................................................... 52F) International issues in copyright...................................................................................... 52

1. GATT, NAFTA, Berne ........................................................................................................................ 52

2. Berne and GATT provide statutory minimum protections .............................................. 52

3. Beyond this, each country can establish its own regime. Any rights in excess of the

minimums must be granted to everyone, even foreign nationals of countries with lesser

protections. .................................................................................................................................................... 52

G) First Sale .................................................................................................................................... 52

1. First sale doctrine allows an owner of a copy to transfer or dispose of it, but not to

transform it into something else (a la Clear Play or Clean Flicks) .......................................... 52

H) Duration .................................................................................................................................... 52

1. Statutes .................................................................................................................................................. 52

2. Eldred v. Ashcroft (2003) ............................................................................................................... 53I) Fair Use ........................................................................................................................................ 54

1. Statutory factors ................................................................................................................................ 54

2. Jurisprudence ...................................................................................................................................... 55

3. A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster....................................................................................................... 57

4. Castle Rock Entertainment v. Carol Publishing Group....................................................... 57

J) Moral rights ............................................................................................................................... 57

1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 57

2. Types of moral rights ................................................................................................................... 57


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3. In the United States ........................................................................................................................... 58

4. Policy arguments ............................................................................................................................... 59

K) Personality theory (Radin; Hughes) ................................................................................ 60

L) Reward theory ......................................................................................................................... 60

1. Intellectual products are public goods.................................................................................. 60

2. Possible responses to public-goods problem ........................................................................ 60

3. Effects of partial price discrimination ...................................................................................... 61M) Remedies .................................................................................................................................. 63

VII. Introduction to Patent ............................................................................................... 63A) Recurring policy arguments: ............................................................................................. 63

1. For generous interpretation of patent rights ........................................................................... 63

2. For narrow interpretation of patent rights .............................................................................. 63

B) Statutory requirements for obtaining patent protection ........................................ 63

1. Patentable Subject Matter (PSM): Invention must constitute PSM. ............................ 63

2. Novelty: Invention has not been anticipated in practice or knowledge. 35 U.S.C.

102. 63

3. Utility: Invention must be useful (very low threshold). 101. .................................. 63

4. Non-Obviousness: Also called non-triviality. Invention must represent significantadvance on prior art 103. .................................................................................................................... 64

5. Enablement: Description of invention in patent must allow PHOSITA (person with

ordinary skill in the art) to construct the invention. 112. ...................................................... 64

6. Statutory Bars: Bar patentability based on too long a delay in seeking patent

protection. ...................................................................................................................................................... 64

C) Rights conferred by a patent .............................................................................................. 64

1. Essentially, patents confer for a number of years the right to exclude others from:

64

2. Term was 17 years until 1995, when GATT-TRIPS adherence extended it to 20

years from the date the patent application is filed........................................................................ 64

3. The exclusionary right is a negative right ............................................................................... 64

D) History of the patent system .............................................................................................. 641. History of Patent System: (MMLJ 121- 35). ........................................................................... 64

E) Patent coverage ...................................................................................................................... 65

1. Process patents................................................................................................................................... 65

2. Product patents .................................................................................................................................. 65

F) Intersection with Trade Secret .......................................................................................... 66

1. For some actors, especially software engineers, there is a choice between patent

protection and trade secret protection. ............................................................................................. 66

2. Trade secret requires making the X secret, while patent protection requires

making it known. ......................................................................................................................................... 66

G) Patent litigation ...................................................................................................................... 66

1. Obtaining and Litigating Patents ................................................................................................. 66

VIII. What may be patented? ........................................................................................... 67A) Patentable Subject Matter ................................................................................................... 67

1. Congress grants patent entitlements pursuant to its authority under Article I, sec.

8, cl. 8 of the Constitution (the Patent Clause)............................................................................ 67

2. Cases defining PSM: .......................................................................................................................... 67

3. Business method patents ............................................................................................................... 68

B) Utility .......................................................................................................................................... 70

1. General utility...................................................................................................................................... 70


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2. Specific utility ...................................................................................................................................... 71

3. Beneficial utility ................................................................................................................................. 71

C) Novelty ....................................................................................................................................... 71

1. To be patentable, a product or process must be new in the sense that ...................... 71

2. Circumstances that will prevent an inventor (I) from acquiring a patent ................. 71

3. Priority principles ............................................................................................................................. 74

D) Non-obviousness .................................................................................................................... 751. Development of Doctrine: Doctrine develops from 1850 through skill and

ingenuity standard (Hotchkiss, 1850) to flash of creative genius test (Cuno Corp.1941). Graham v. John Deere abandons flash of genius test and allows for

consideration of secondary factors in addition to whether invention is advancement on

prior art. .......................................................................................................................................................... 75

2. Post-Graham Obviousness Determinations: Post Graham circuits diverge on

percentage of patents held invalid based on obviousness. ........................................................ 77

3. Federal Circuit Standard: Since 1982 creation of Federal Circuit, standard for

non-obvious relaxed to allow more patents to remain valid in infringement suit

challenges based on court emphasis on secondary factors and treatment of

combination patents. ................................................................................................................................. 77

4. Graham v. John Deere, 383 US 1 (1966) (MMLJ 193):........................................................ 77

5. Combining References from Prior Art: Overcoming the Non-Obviousness Barrier

77

6. Variations on Non-Obviousness .................................................................................................. 79

7. Secondary Considerations .......................................................................................................... 79

8. Theories/Perspectives on Non-Obviousness ......................................................................... 79

9. Alternative Ways of Thinking About Non-Obviousness........................................................ 81

E) Enabling disclosure (Enablement)................................................................................... 82

1. 35 U.S.C. s. 112: The patent specification must contain a description of the

invention and of the manner and process of making and using it, clearly enough to

enable a PHOSITA to make and use it. The claims define the scope of legal protection

surrounding the patented innovation. Section 112 requires three things in patent: .... 822. Enablement subsidiary doctrines ........................................................................................... 843. Best mode ............................................................................................................................................. 84

4. Tacit attention to types of invention ......................................................................................... 84

IX. Patent Structure ............................................................................................................ 85A) Disclosure ................................................................................................................................. 85

1. Intertwined disclosure requirements ....................................................................................... 85

2. Policies ................................................................................................................................................... 85

B) Structure.................................................................................................................................... 85

1. Specification......................................................................................................................................... 85

2. claims ...................................................................................................................................................... 85

C) Claim interpretation ............................................................................................................. 85

1. Interpretative sources ..................................................................................................................... 86

X. Patent Rights ................................................................................................................... 87A) Rights encompassed by a patent ...................................................................................... 87

1. Duration................................................................................................................................................. 87

2. Exclusive rights to make, use, and sell ...................................................................................... 87

3. Assignments and licenses .............................................................................................................. 87

4. Infringement ........................................................................................................................................ 87

5. Setting the boundaries of the patent ......................................................................................... 87


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6. Improvements ..................................................................................................................................... 87

7. Contributory infringement & inducement .............................................................................. 87

8. Defenses ................................................................................................................................................ 87

9. Remedies ............................................................................................................................................... 87

B) Duration .................................................................................................................................... 87

1. Utility patents ...................................................................................................................................... 87

2. Design patents: ................................................................................................................................... 88C) Making, using, selling ............................................................................................................ 88

1. 271 (a) ................................................................................................................................................ 88

2. Make .................................................................................................................................................... 88

3. Use ........................................................................................................................................................ 894. Sell 271 (a) .................................................................................................................................... 89

D) Assignments and licenses ................................................................................................... 89

1. Assignor estoppel (Diamond Scientific) .................................................................................... 89

2. No licensee estoppel (Lear) ........................................................................................................... 89

3. Permissible duration of licenses (Brulotte) ............................................................................ 89

4. Compulsory licenses......................................................................................................................... 90

E) Infringement ............................................................................................................................ 90

1. Literal infringement ......................................................................................................................... 90

2. Equivalents: Graver Tank, Hilton Davis .................................................................................... 90

F) Interpreting claims ................................................................................................................ 91

1. Objective standard ............................................................................................................................ 91

2. Sources of guidance: ......................................................................................................................... 91

G) Improvements ......................................................................................................................... 92

1. Blocking patents ................................................................................................................................. 92

H) Contributory infringement and inducement ............................................................... 92

1. Contributory Infringement 271(c) ......................................................................................... 92

2. Inducement .......................................................................................................................................... 92

I) Defenses ...................................................................................................................................... 93

1. Experimental use ............................................................................................................................... 932. Inequitable conduct .......................................................................................................................... 93

3. Patent misuse ...................................................................................................................................... 94

4. Laches ..................................................................................................................................................... 98

J) Remedies .................................................................................................................................... 98

1. Generally, injunctions, not damages, are the standard remedies in patent cases.

The reason is that placing a value on a particular piece of patented technology,

especially over a period of time, is very difficult. Better let the parties negotiate over a

license. Valuation problem. .................................................................................................................... 98

2. Patentee cannot use the courts to prevent violations ex ante. ....................................... 99

3. H.H. Robertson ..................................................................................................................................... 99

4. Permanent injunctions denied on very rare occasions on the basis of the public

interest ............................................................................................................................................................ 995. Injunctions are thought more efficient because of significant valuation problem if

court has to decide value under a liability rule .............................................................................. 99

6. Monetary damages ............................................................................................................................ 99

K) Economic Analysis ............................................................................................................... 100

1. Examples of ways in which the patent system might be tuned ................................... 100

2. How should we make those adjustments? ........................................................................... 101

3. Fishers historical article ............................................................................................................. 105


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XI. IP in Computer Software .......................................................................................... 107A) Market failures ...................................................................................................................... 107

1. Public goods problem ................................................................................................................... 107

2. Standardization and network externalities ......................................................................... 107

B) Four systems available for protecting software ....................................................... 107

1. Trade secret ...................................................................................................................................... 107

2. Copyright law (see also below)................................................................................................. 108

3. Patent................................................................................................................................................... 109

C) Copyright law ......................................................................................................................... 109

1. Protection extended to computer software in accordance with the

recommendations of CONTU in 1980 .............................................................................................. 109

2. Whelan ................................................................................................................................................ 109

3. Computer Associates v. Altai....................................................................................................... 110

4. Six levels of declining abstraction (Gates Rubber) ............................................................ 112

5. Six unprotectable elements (GR) .............................................................................................. 112

6. Menu hierarchies ............................................................................................................................ 112

D) Patent ....................................................................................................................................... 113

1. Cases .................................................................................................................................................... 113

2. Freeman-Walter-Abele tests (1977-1982) .......................................................................... 113

3. Gradual weakening, 1982-1994 ............................................................................................... 113

4. In re Alappat (1994) ...................................................................................................................... 113

5. Patent doctrines by technology sector .................................................................................. 113

6. Unstable legal doctrine................................................................................................................. 114

E) Copies and the DMCA .......................................................................................................... 114

1. In 93 the 9thCircuit found that loading a program into RAM constitutes a copy forthe purposes of 106. (MAI Systems) ............................................................................................. 114

2. In 80, this was rectified by 117 of the Copyright Act.................................................. 115

3. MAI may be inconsistent with prior cases and legislative intent. House report

indicated that fixation would exclude transient computer reproductions.................. 115

4. DMCA ................................................................................................................................................... 115F) DMCA ......................................................................................................................................... 115

1. Three major changes to the copyright Act ........................................................................... 115

G) Sega(9thCir. 1992) : ............................................................................................................ 118

1. Facts: Accolade wanted to make Sega-compatible game w/o complying w/ Segas

licensing requirements (making S the sole platform for As games); A bought 3 of Ssgames, reverse engineered to unlock and achieve compatibility w/ S .............................. 118

2. Held:copying portion of copyrighted code infringes, is a violation of 106, but is

excused by 107 (fair use doctrine) ................................................................................................ 118

3. Fair use components: .................................................................................................................... 118

XII. Trademark Policy ..................................................................................................... 118A) Questions ................................................................................................................................ 118

1. Cohens questions ........................................................................................................................... 118

2. What roles do trademarks play? .............................................................................................. 118

3. Are those roles desirable or undesirable?............................................................................ 119

4. How do you minimize undesirable effects? ......................................................................... 119

B) What do trademarks do? ................................................................................................... 119

1. Identify sources of products ...................................................................................................... 119

2. Mnemonic devices .......................................................................................................................... 120

3. Provide substantive information ............................................................................................. 120


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4. Generalized indicia of prestige ................................................................................................. 120

5. Increase attractiveness through sound, appearance, or connotation ...................... 120

6. Provide vehicles for conversation and parody ................................................................... 120

7. Shape consumers preferences and attitudes..................................................................... 120

C) Possible alternatives to trademarks ............................................................................. 122

1. Government certification of quality of goods ..................................................................... 122

2. Private certification of quality of goods ................................................................................ 1223. Warranties ......................................................................................................................................... 122

XIII. Trademark Doctrines ............................................................................................. 122A) Trademarks 1127 ( 45) ................................................................................................ 122

1. Any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof .............................. 122

2. Either: .................................................................................................................................................. 122

3. Used to identify and distinguish his or her goods, including a unique product, from

those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source of the goods, even if

that source is unknown. ........................................................................................................................ 122

B) Service marks ........................................................................................................................ 122


2. Either: .................................................................................................................................................. 1223. Used to identify and distinguish the services of one person from the services of

others and to indicate the source of the services, even if that source is unknown ...... 122

C) Collective marks ................................................................................................................... 122

1. A trademark or service mark ..................................................................................................... 122

2. Either ................................................................................................................................................... 123

D) Certification marks ............................................................................................................. 123


2. Either: .................................................................................................................................................. 123

3. Used to certify regional or other origin, material, mode of manufacture, quality, or

accuracy of such persons goods or services or that the gods or services were

performed by members of a union or other organization. ..................................................... 123

E) Categories................................................................................................................................ 1231. Marks that need only be used to be registrable ................................................................. 123

2. Marks registrable only with secondary meaning .............................................................. 124

3. Marks not registrable .................................................................................................................... 125

F) Johns April 2 notes .............................................................................................................. 125

1. The typology that we covered yesterday has ramifications throughout this section

of the course. .............................................................................................................................................. 125

2. Weve talked about all of the characteristics that will throw a mark into category 3

except IMMORAL, SCANDALOUS OR DISPARAGING MARKS most controversial part

of the class and of trademark law: .................................................................................................... 125

G) Secondary meaning ............................................................................................................. 127

1. Secondary Meaning........................................................................................................................ 127

2. Note on the doctrine of "secondary meaning in the making" ...................................... 1283. Secondary meaning kicks in when customer association of the mark with X

reaches a certain plateau. ..................................................................................................................... 128

4. Possible remedies for X ................................................................................................................ 128

H) Novel forms of trademarks .............................................................................................. 129

1. Sounds ................................................................................................................................................. 129

2. Smells .................................................................................................................................................. 129

3. Colors ................................................................................................................................................... 129


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4. Slogans ................................................................................................................................................ 129

5. Location of labels ............................................................................................................................ 129

6. Invented ingredients ..................................................................................................................... 130

7. Package shapes ................................................................................................................................ 130

8. Cartoon characters ......................................................................................................................... 130

9. Buildings............................................................................................................................................. 130

10. Product configurations ............................................................................................................. 130I) Controversy over Inherent Distinctiveness for product configurations....... 130

1. Two Pesos ........................................................................................................................................ 1302. Other cases ........................................................................................................................................ 130

3. Wal-Mart (S. Ct. 2000) .................................................................................................................. 131

J) Trade dress and product configuration ........................................................................ 132

1. Three basic principles: ................................................................................................................. 132

2. 9th Cir. in Paglierocase adopted subsidiary doctrine of aesthetic functionality: 132

3. Theory of trade dress protection (oversimplified): based on a combination of

desire to prevent consumer confusion & not to allow parasitism because it's unfair &

unseemly. ..................................................................................................................................................... 132

4. TF thinks trade dress doctrine "has gotten way out of hand" ..................................... 132

XIV. Gaining and Losing Trademark Protection .................................................... 132A) Priority ..................................................................................................................................... 132

B) Distinctiveness ...................................................................................................................... 132

C) Procedures in establishing protection ......................................................................... 132

D) Losing protection ................................................................................................................. 133

1. Abandonment ................................................................................................................................... 133

2. Impermisible licenses and assignments ............................................................................... 133

3. Genericity ........................................................................................................................................... 133

XV. Rights Encompassed Through Trademark Ownership ................................ 133A) Infringement through consumer confusion ............................................................... 133

B) Federal anti-dilution statute (Lanham Act 43(c)) .................................................... 1331. Plaintiff must show: ....................................................................................................................... 133

2. In determining whether a mark is distinctive and famous, a court may look at:. 134

3. Defenses to federal dilution claims ......................................................................................... 134

4. In practice .......................................................................................................................................... 134

5. Tarnishment ..................................................................................................................................... 134

6. Retroaction ........................................................................................................................................ 134

C) Protection for unregistered marks under the Lanham Act 43(a)....................... 134

1. History ................................................................................................................................................. 134

2. Current coverage close to protection for registered marks .......................................... 135

3. Trademark expansion into copyright areas ........................................................................ 135

4. Parody problems ............................................................................................................................ 135

XVI. Industrial Design ...................................................................................................... 136A) Definition ................................................................................................................................ 136

1. Objects that are both useful and beautiful. Design of computers, pens, cars, etc.

136

B) Patent protection ................................................................................................................. 136

1. Utility patents ................................................................................................................................... 136

2. Design patents ................................................................................................................................. 137

C) Copyrightability of useful objects ................................................................................... 138


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1. History ................................................................................................................................................. 138

2. Current doctrine ............................................................................................................................. 138

D) Trademark ............................................................................................................................. 139

1. Doctrine .............................................................................................................................................. 139

2. Trade dress protection ................................................................................................................. 139

3. Aesthetic functionality ................................................................................................................. 139

4. Comparison ....................................................................................................................................... 1405. Alternatives ....................................................................................................................................... 140

XVII. Trade Secrets ........................................................................................................... 140A) Sources of law ........................................................................................................................ 140

1. State law ............................................................................................................................................. 140

2. Economic Espionage Act of 1996 ............................................................................................. 140

B) Subject matter ....................................................................................................................... 140

1. Restatement definition: a process or device for continuous use in the operation of

a business. Includes: .............................................................................................................................. 140

2. UTSA expands protected matter to include: ....................................................................... 140

C) Requirements for protection ........................................................................................... 142

1. Information must have been secret initially.................................................................... 1422. Plaintiffs must have made reasonable efforts to keep it secret ................................... 142

3. The information must be commercially valuable ............................................................. 142

D) Rockwell .................................................................................................................................. 142

1. See chart in powerpoint slides. ................................................................................................. 142

2. Theory 1: Protect trade secrets in order to discourage rent-seeking (moving

wealth around rather than increasing wealth) ............................................................................ 142

3. Theory 2: Protect TS in order to stimulate innovation .................................................. 142

E) Requirements for liability ................................................................................................. 142

1. Breach of confidence ..................................................................................................................... 142

2. or: secret was discovered through improper means.................................................. 142

F) Remedies ................................................................................................................................. 142

1. Injunctions ......................................................................................................................................... 1422. Damages ............................................................................................................................................. 143

G) Constitutional takings ..................................................................................................... 143

1. 5thAmendment private property taken for public use w/out just compensation 143

2. Monsantotrade secrets are private property if protected by state TS law..... 1433. A taking occurs if the law in effect at the time the owner submitted the

information to the government gave the owner a reasonable expectation that the

information would not be disclosed. ................................................................................................ 143

H) Limits on use of confidential information by employees ...................................... 143

1. If the information is a trade secret, employee is disabled if either ............................ 143

2. If the information is not a trade secret, employee is disabled only if she signed a

reasonable agreement........................................................................................................................ 144I) Employer/employee rights to inventions .................................................................... 144

1. Courts routinely enforce pre-invention agreements ....................................................... 144

2. In absence of agreement, inventions by employee in the course of employment

belong to employee, but ........................................................................................................................ 144

J) Doctrinal perspectives ......................................................................................................... 144

1. Utilitarianism ................................................................................................................................... 144

2. Labor-desert theory ...................................................................................................................... 146


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3. Personality theory .......................................................................................................................... 146

XVIII. Idea Submission..................................................................................................... 147A) Is what? .................................................................................................................................... 147

1. X submits an idea to Y. Y then uses some variant of the idea without

compensating X. ........................................................................................................................................ 147

2. Typically, X is an individual and Y is a larger-scale operator. Someone with moreeconomic clout. ......................................................................................................................................... 147

3. Y is also generally the only plausible buyer of Xs idea................................................... 147

4. X generally has no way of estimating the value of the idea. ......................................... 147

B) Doctrinal pegs........................................................................................................................ 147

1. Idea as property .............................................................................................................................. 147

2. Misappropriation ............................................................................................................................ 147

3. Express contract ............................................................................................................................. 148

4. Contract implied in fact ................................................................................................................ 149

5. Quasi-contract .................................................................................................................................. 149

C) Idea submission problems ................................................................................................ 149

1. Mobil color scheme ........................................................................................................................ 149

2. Bud frog commercials ................................................................................................................... 1493. ABC pharmacological explanation for Elvis death....................................................... 149

4. Chevrolet location of the battery and starter in the car .............................................. 149

5. Eastern Airlines Plane Facts............................................................................................... 149

XIX. Right of Publicity ...................................................................................................... 149A) Sources of the doctrine ...................................................................................................... 149

1. State common law outgrowth of tort of invasion of privacy ..................................... 149

2. State statutes .................................................................................................................................... 149

B) Requirements ........................................................................................................................ 149

1. Celebrity status ................................................................................................................................ 150

2. Commercial value of plaintiffs identity................................................................................ 150

3. Identifiability .................................................................................................................................... 1504. Distinctiveness or uniqueness? ................................................................................................ 150

C) Protected aspects of celebritys identity ...................................................................... 1501. Name (Cardtoons) .......................................................................................................................... 150

2. Likeness (Joe Montana, Three Stooges) ................................................................................ 150

3. Voice (Bette Midler) ...................................................................................................................... 150

4. Rhythm and gestures (Lombardo) .......................................................................................... 150

5. Setting (Vanna White, Motschenbacher) .............................................................................. 150

6. Clothes and posture (Vanna White) ........................................................................................ 150

7. Tag line (Johnny Carson) ............................................................................................................. 150

8. Biographical facts (Jabbar) ......................................................................................................... 150

D) Protected interests .............................................................................................................. 150

1. Protection varies with the purpose of the appropriation .............................................. 1502. Descendible in 12 states .............................................................................................................. 151

3. Alienable, by license or agreement ......................................................................................... 151

E) Remedies ................................................................................................................................. 151

1. Injunctions ......................................................................................................................................... 151

2. Damages ............................................................................................................................................. 151

3. Impoundment and destruction of offending materials ................................................... 151

4. Attorneys fees ................................................................................................................................. 151

F) Federal limitations ............................................................................................................... 151


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1. Copyright preemption .................................................................................................................. 151

2. First amendment ............................................................................................................................ 151

G) Supplementary and alternative doctrines .................................................................. 152

1. State ...................................................................................................................................................... 152

2. Federal ................................................................................................................................................ 152

H) Possible justifications of right of publicity ................................................................. 152

1. Labor-Desert theory ...................................................................................................................... 1522. Utilitarianism theory ..................................................................................................................... 153

3. Personality theory .......................................................................................................................... 154

4. Social Planning theory .................................................................................................................. 154

XX. Limits on State Intellectual Property Doctrines ............................................. 155A) Constitutional limitations ................................................................................................. 155

1. 1stAmendment ................................................................................................................................ 155

2. Constitutional pre-emption (Art. I, Sec. 8, Clause 8) ........................................................ 155

B) Statutory preemption ......................................................................................................... 155

1. Preemption by Lanham Act - 39(b) ...................................................................................... 155

2. Preemption by Copyright Act 301 ......................................................................................... 156

3. Reverse engineering software under copyright law ........................................................ 156C) Preemption by patent statute .......................................................................................... 157

1. Major cases ........................................................................................................................................ 157


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I.

II. C------Final

A) Issue spotters

1. Know hard and easy issues; dont waste too much space on easyissues.

B) Normative questions

1. Know the theories that underlie the law.

2. Dont just recapitulate the same theories rehashed in class do

something creative and original.

III. Introduction

A) Covers four general areas

1. Copyright law

a. Grants to authors very broadly defined property interest in theiroriginal forms of expression

2. Patent law

a. Gives more general protection to inventions of machines andprocesses

3. Trademark and unfair competition

a. Enables businesses to shield distinctive names, labels, insignia andforms against mimicry or abuse

i. By other firms or customers

4. Ancillary state doctrines

a. Misappropriation

i. Enables business sometimes to prevent other businesses from free-riding on their efforts


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b. Trade secrets

i. Reinforces ability of businesses to conceal from their competitorssecret, commercially valuable information

c. Idea submission

i. Sometimes protects the ability of people to propose ideas (scripts,plots, etc.) to another firm or organization without losing control orrights

d. Rights of publicity

i. Enables celebrities to demand remuneration from people who want tomake commercial use of their identities

B) Juxtaposition

1. Understand each of the areas better if you see them juxtaposed.

2. See them overlap in the internet, software, industrial designs, etc.

C) Theories of intellectual property

1. Labor-Desert theories

a. Lockes Theory of Property

i. Comes from Chapter 5 of Lockes second treatise

ii. Generative vignette

(a) In the state of nature, before civil society, people could obtainnatural property rights (to the earth) by laboring upon it.

(b) A man comes to a common tract of land; he plows, plants, andharvests. The laborer acquires a natural property right to thecrops and to the landto which he has bent his labor. Threequalifications:

iii. Limitations on natural property rights

(a) Sufficiency proviso: You can acquire property rights in thisfashion only if you leave as much and as good for others.

(b) Spoilage proviso: You can acquire property rights in this fashiononly if the crops you reap dont rot in your barn.

(c) Duty of charity: By acquiring property rights in this fashion youacquire a duty to be charitable to others.


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iv. Transition to political society

(a) The state doesnt erase property rights the duty of the state is todetermine, settle, enforce and respect natural property rights

(b) Tacit agreement to the use of money lifts the spoilage proviso,

since you turn excess crops into silver and nothing is wasted.

b. Application to IP

i. Presumptively strong support for intellectual property rights

(a) Labor is usually the largest input

(b) Sufficiency proviso seems less applicable

(c) Spoilage proviso seems irrelevant

ii. Often invoked by American copyright law

c. Rationales

i. Miscellaneous formal rationales

(a) Necessary to effectuate right to means of subsistence

(b) Religious obligation to subdue the earth and cultivate it for thebenefit of life

(c) Intuitions regarding self-ownership

(d) Moral value of work

(e) Intuitions concerning proportionality and fairness

(f) Imagery of transformation (wild to domestic, raw to cultivated,chaotic to ordered, unproductive to productive)

ii. Puzzle

(a) If (a) and (b) are the primary justifications, they dont seem to haveany application to IP.

(b) If (d) and (e) are the primary justifications, then they are muchstronger.

d. Meaning of Labor

i. Time and effort

ii. Avoidance theorysee Hughes


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iii. Value-Added theorysee Gordon and Hughes (cf. Equity Theoryin Social Psychology)

iv. Premium on creative labor see Becker

e. Meaning of The Commons

i. Facts

ii. Language

iii. Cultural heritage

iv. Ideas

f. Relevance and interpretation of the sufficiency proviso

i. Strong v. weak form of the proviso (Gordon, Waldron)

(a) Olympic Committees virtual exclusive use of the word Olympics

ii. Removal of ideas from the commons (Hughes, Shiffrin, Yen)

iii. Addiction to intellectual products

2. Utilitarian theories

a. All about incentives, on all sides. Want to incentivize goodbehavior, productive behavior.

3. Personality theories

4. Social planning theories

IV. What May Be Copyrighted?

A) Generally

1. Copyright does not protect the physical work, but the ideas expressedin a tangible medium of expression

2. Protected creations

a. Literary works

i. Works of fiction and nonfiction

ii. Catalogues, directories databases

(a) Must pass the originality test


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iii. Software

iv. Labels (aside from pure advertisements)

b. Musical works (compositions)

c. Sound recordings

d. Dramatic works, pantomimes, and choreographic works

i. Choreography only since the 60s

e. Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works

i. Paintings and photographs

ii. Applied art used in advertising and commerce

(a) Only if it has aesthetic features independent of its utilitarianfunction

iii. Maps, charts, globes

(a) No protection for facts or ideas

(i) Location of boundaries, mountains

(ii) Names of cities

(iii) Newly coined place names; arbitrary symbols

(b) Protection for selection, arrangement, and presentation ofelements

(c) Residues of sweat of the brow theory

(d) Scope of protection depends on degree of originality

f. Motion pictures and audiovisual works

i. A work is a motion picture if it has:

(a) A series of images

(b) The capability of showing the images in a particular successiveorder

(c) The impression of motion

ii. AV works include filmstrips and slide sets


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g. Architectural works

h. Compilations

i. Putting together a collection of materials, including copyrightedmaterials, creates a copyright in the compilation (but not the original

individual works).

(a) Copying the compilation without permission violates the copyrights(if applicable) of the individual works andthe compilation

i. Derivative works

i. Translations

ii. Musical arrangements

iii. Dramatizations

iv. Fictionalizations

v. Motion-picture adaptations

vi. Abridgments

3. Unprotected creations

a. Words and short phrases

b. Ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation,

concepts, principles, discoveries

c. US Government works

i. Cases

(a) But you cant do whatever you want with Lexis cases, because ofthe Lexis EULA


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d. Blank forms

4. Must be fixed in a tangible medium of expression

a. Books, periodicals

b. Video and audio recordings

c. Computer punch cards

d. Blueprints and buildings

e. Usually automaticcant write an entire novel in your head. Insome forms, must consciously be fixed, as with choreography.

5. Impermissible forms of expression for copyright protection

a. Improvisationsb. Unrecorded performances

c. Unrecorded broadcasts

d. Temporary retention in computer memory?

6. Characteristics notrequired for protection

a. Novelty

b. Aesthetic merit

c. Truth

d. Lawful content

B) Copyright Protection for Fictional Characters

1. A well-developed fictional character is protected independent of thework in which that character appears

a. That protection is strengthened if the character appears in more

than one, especially a series, work

b. Courts are probably really looking for audiences ability to recognizea discrete character

2. Evolution

a. Characters evolve over time.


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b. Do you get protection in all avatars, or only the latest version?

3. Field began in a sense with a dispute over Sam Spade (MalteseFalcon)

4. Examples

a. Upheld uses

i. The Greatest American Hero

ii. Mercury Cougar/Pink Panther

(a) Cant own a copyright in the idea of big pink cat, even if the userswere attempting to create a character that resembled the PinkPanther

b. Uses held to violate copyright

i. Look! Up in the sky! . . . Its a bird! . . .Its a plane! . . . Its . . . CrazyEddie!

ii. Air Pirates comics, portraying Disney characters engaged in criminaland immoral activities

iii. E.T. Phone Home T-shirts

iv. Honda advertisement

5. In class exerciseBond-like Honda commercial

a. Plaintiff

i. Must first point to a copyright protection, then allege infringement

ii. Bond films are copyrighted, obviously. Infringement comes in theclassic characteristics

(a) Undercover spy, debonair, traveling with a floozy

(b) More characteristics mean greater likelihood of getting acopyright, but make it harder to find infringement

iii. Denies the parody defense

(a) Must add something creative, expressive

(b) Is commentary enough?

(i) Parody is generally accepted to be critical commentary that makesthe original look ludicrous


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(ii) This is an ad, not a purely creative work. Its attempting to profitthrough commercial activity, not creativity.

iv. Real life claims

(a) Bond character deserves protection

(b) Style of the film deserves protection

(i) Blending the genres of action, comedy, thriller, social commentary,etc.

b. Defendant

i. Points to general archetype (spies from Mission Impossible, TheBourne Identity, Our Man Flint, etc.)

ii. Points to non-similar characteristics

(a) Hair color, drives a Honda, etc.

iii. Points to lack of characterization/development in commercialcharacter

iv. Claims that the similarities are meant as a parody

(a) Meant to be funny

(b) Exaggerated notable characteristics

(c) Reversed notable characteristics

v. Real life claims

(a) Its a parody because, as everyone knows, in Diamonds AreForever, Sean Connery was going bald and needed a toupee. Adcharacters hair comment is pointing to that.

(i) If you dont get it, is it legitimate parody?

c. Holding

i. Plaintiffs won, ad was enjoined

ii. Plaintiffs held to enjoy a copyright in the character of Bond

(a) Very well delineated character

(i) Very particular characteristics

iii. Infringement existed


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(a) General concept and feel are substantially similar

(b) Specific characteristics are substantially similar

(c) No fair use defense

iv. Injury

(a) Conduct, if allowed to continue, would impair plaintiffs licensingdeals

(i) Bond people were cutting deals with BMW, which would be worthless faced with a Bond knockoff Honda commercial

6. Parodies and advertisements

a. Advertisements generally get less protection as parody, and fewerprotections as plaintiffs as well.

b. Ads fit into the subcategory of works known as commercial works

c. There is a countercurrent that holds that ads get the sameprotection as any other worksBleistein.

C) Architecture

1. Before 1990, copyright protection for architecture was just a subset ofprotections for 3-D objects as a whole (i.e., sculpture)

a. Architects and assignees of architects had to be able to show that

what was copied was aesthetic features separate from theirfunction.

b. Important standard was conceptual separability.

2. Damages largely assessed by what a reasonable royalty would havebeen

3. The way in which architects work, and are selected for jobs, meansthat the more distinctive their work is, the better off they are. Creates aneed for IP protection.

a. Or maybe theyre going to be hired even if their designs areknocked offthere is a premium on the first to build a building of Xdesign.

D) Hypothetical

1. Fisher takes a photo on fully automatic settings (more or less random)and create an amateur greeting card. Send it to a friend, who goes to


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the same place and frames a similar photo, sells it to Hallmark for tengrand. What rights do Fisher have?

a. Fishers photo is protected

i. Original ruling, just intentional photos taken with models, etc. Later

extended gradually to all photos.

ii. Not a novel design/picture; trite photo of a boat with a sunset in thebackground

b. Infringement (Gross, 1914)thin protection

i. Thickness of protection is attributable to the artistic contribution to thephoto

ii. Access; copying

iii. Substantial similarity

iv. total feel & concept

v. The scene is not protectedit is, essentially, a fact, since it is a true-life photo and not a model.

E) Originality and Creativity

1. Possible meanings of originality

a. Independent creation (required)

b. Creativity (required, as per Feist)

c. Novelty (not required, but sometimes relevant for other purposes)

d. Intent to be original (not required)

e. Noncommercial (not required, but cf. Harlan & McKenna)

f. Artistic (not required)

i. What is art? Aesthetic theory:

(a) Formalism

(i) Something becomes art because of some aspect of its form

(b) Intentionalism

(i) Something becomes art by virtue of the intention behind its creation


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(c) Institutionalism

(i) Focuses on the way in which an object is seen by the art world, aself-constituted customary group of people and institutions(museums, artists, galleries, critics, etc.) Something becomes art if itis recognized as art by this community.

ii. Why is artistic merit not required?

(a) Bleisteinneutrality justifications

(i) Judges lack expertise

(ii) Democratic principle

(iii) Liberalism/hostility to paternalism

(b) Objections

(i) Judges will do it anywayrefined parodies will get more protectionthan scatological comedies

(ii) Externalities

(iii) Argument from future selves

(a) People will thank us when theyre artistic and enlightened

(iv) Social-planning theory

2. Sheldon v. Metro-Goldwyn

a. Copyrights are not like patents in that there is no requirement thatthe work be both original and new.

i. Maps, for instance, necessarily anticipate later works.


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b. If a man independently wrote Ode to a Grecian Urn, he couldcopyright it, although others could copy Keats work.

c. If the copyrigh

Documents

IP Outline Complete.docx