Introduction to Copyright Law

The course provides an introduction to copyright law
and American law in general.

Course Features

• Video lectures

Course Highlights

This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.

Course Description

This course is an introduction to copyright law and American law in general. Topics covered include: structure of federal law; basics of legal research; legal citations; how to use LexisNexis®; the 1976 Copyright Act; copyright as applied to music, computers, broadcasting, and education; fair use; Napster®, Grokster®, and Peer-to-Peer file-sharing; Library Access to Music Project; The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act; DVDs and encryption; software licensing; the GNU® General Public License and free software.

- Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991). (PDF)
- Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994). (PDF)
- On Command Video Corp. v. Columbia Pictures Industries, 777 F. Supp. 787 (N.D. Cal. 1991). (PDF)
- Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U.S. 417 (1984). (PDF)

Readings

Go to LexisNexis®, "Legal Research," then "Federal Code," and finally "Guided Search." (That will take you to this form.)

Search for "17 uscs" in "Cite." This will pull up the entire Copyright Act. Alternately, you can use the U. S. Copyright Office's file: (PDF - 3 MB).

Read the following sections of the statute. (If the section seems to go on and on, just read the first few subsections. You may find it helpful to look back at the definitions in section 101.)

- 106 (Core Rights)
- 106A (Limited Moral Rights)
- 107 (Fair Use)
- 109 (First Sale)
- 110 (Exempt Performances)
- 115 Only Read Subsections (a) and (b) (Musical "Covers")
- 117 (Computer Programs)
- 302 (Duration of Copyright)
- 401 (Copyright Notice)
- 411 (Registration)
- 504 (Damages for Infringement)
- 506 (Criminal Violations, including LaMacchia Law)

Read 17 U.S.C. § 512. (Remember: Use "17 uscs sec 512".)

Read Recording Industry Ass'n of America v. Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc., 180 F.3d 1072 (9th Cir. 1999).

Read Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley, 273 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2001). (PDF)

Read Chamberlain Group, Inc. v. Skylink Technologies, Inc., 381 F.3d 1178 (Fed. Cir. 2004). (PDF)

Read Jonathan Zittrain's essay, "The Copyright Cage," in legal affairs magazine.

Optional Readings

Nimmer, David. Codifying Copyright Comprehensibly, 51 UCLA L. Rev. 1233 (2004) (From LexisNexis® Academic, go to "Legal Research," then "Law Reviews," then "Guided Search," and search for "51 UCLA L. Rev. 1233" in "Citation." Set the date field to "All available dates.") This is a fantastic article about the entire Copyright Act.

———. Appreciating Legislative History: The Sweet and Sour Spots of the DMCA's Commentary, 23 Cardozo L. Rev. 909 (2002).

———. "Fairest of them All" and Other Fairy Tales of Fair Use, 66 Law & Contemp. Probs. 263 (2003), available with chart.

Assignments

The course assignments were closely tied to the readings.

Assignment 1

Review the LexisNexis® Handout (PDF)

Assignment 2

Go to LexisNexis®, "Legal Research," then "Federal Code," and finally "Guided Search." Search for "17 uscs" in "Cite." This will pull up the entire Copyright Act. Read the following sections of the statute. (If the section seems to go on and on, just read the first few subsections. You may find it helpful to look back at the definitions in section 101.)

• 106 (Core Rights)
• 106A (Limited Moral Rights)
• 107 (Fair Use)
• 109 (First Sale)
• 110 (Exempt Performances)
• 115 Only Read Subsections (a) and (b) (Musical "Covers")
• 117 (Computer Programs)
• 302 (Duration of Copyright)
• 401 (Copyright Notice)
• 411 (Registration)
• 504 (Damages for Infringement)
• 506 (Criminal Violations, including LaMacchia Law)

For each of these twelve sections, write a little summary (between one and three sentences) to yourself explaining the gist of the section. For example:

• Section 115. This section allows musicians to record and distribute "covers" of songs without having to get permission, as long as another recording of the song has already been legitimately distributed. For example, when Madonna released her version of "American Pie" in 2000, she didn't need Don McLean's permission. She just had to pay him about 9.1 cents (a government-set price) per copy sold.