Law 633: Copyright

Final Revised Syllabus

Mon, Tues, Thurs 1:20 - 2:35 pm

218 Hutchins Hall

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Required Texts:

Julie E. Cohen, Lydia Pallas Loren, Ruth Gana Okediji & Maureen A, O'Rourke, COPYRIGHT IN A GLOBAL INFORMATION ECONOMY (5th edition 2019), ISBN 9781543813630. I recommend that you purchase the Looseleaf edition, which sells for $90. If you prefer, a $352 hardcover edition is available for sale or rent.

2023 Supplement (free digital download. Download it here.)
A current copy of the Copyright statute (Also free. Download it here). If you would prefer a paper copy, this print on demand copy (ISBN: 979-8668643745) is available from Amazon.com for $11.

Assignments:

January 15, 16:

- Read:
  - Casebook pp. 3-44
  - Cory Doctorow, Penguin Random House, AI and Writers' Rights, Pluralistic (Oct. 19, 2024)
- Explore the links posted at https://websites.umich.edu/~jdlitman/classes/copyright/Copyref.html

- - Optional: View the full video of Kyle Hanagami's choreographic work or/and skim the 9th Circuit's opinion

January 21, 23:

- Read:
  - Casebook pp. 47-89
  - 17 USC §§ 101, 102
- View:
  - Compare Williams' Defender with Arctic's Defense Command
  - Check out images of the posters created to advertise Wallace's circus here and here.
    - Optional:
      - Browse the Copyright Office online archive of Review Board letters, reviewing examiner refusals to register copyrights. Read a few recent letters.
        
        Read the District Court opinion in Alexander v. Take-Two Interactive Software
- Write:
  - Short essay due Wednesday January 22 at noon

January 27, 28, 30:

- Read:
  - Casebook pp. 89-152
  - Supplement pp. 1-2
  - 17 USC §§ 101, 102, 103, 201, 204
- View:
  - Read the synopsis and credits for Heads Up!, a short film directed by Alex Merkin and produced by Robert Krakovski
    - Optional: View the trailer
- Write:
  - Short essay due Wednesday January 29

February 3, 4, 6

- Read:
  - Casebook pp. 147-72, 177-208
  - Supplement pp. 2-6
  - 17 USC §§ 101, 105, 113, 120, 201, 204
  - Who Holds Copyright at the University of Michigan? Read the University's Standard Practice Guide § 601.28
- View:
  - Explore Public.Resource.orgLinks to an external site. and Law.Resource.orgLinks to an external site.
  - Optional:
    - Explore Anna Indiana's YouTube channel
- Write:
  - Short essay due Wednesday February 5 at noon

February 10, 11, 13

- Read:
  - Casebook pp. 208-38, 245-72
  - Supplement pp. 8-9
  - 17 USC §§ 101, 106, 117, 501
- View:
  - Watch this cringy three minute excerpt from What Women Want
- Listen:
  - - You can listen to the the two different songs named Love is a Wonderful Thing here and here
- Write:
  - First statutory drafting exercise

February 17, 18, 20

- Read:
  - Casebook pp. 272-323, 327-344
  - Supplement pp. 9-11
  - 17 USC §§ 101, 106
- Optional:
  - - Listen to the songs at issue in Arnstein v Porter.
    - Listen to the songs at issue in Swirsky v Carey:
      - Xscape's recording of Swirsky's One of Those Love Songs
        
        Mariah Carey's recording of Thank God I Found You
    - Read about Professor Jamie Lund's lay listener experiment
    - Read the district court opinion in Wilson v Disney denying Disney's motion to dismiss Wilson's complaint
- Write:
  - Copyright infringement problem: short essay due February 19

February 24, 25, 27

- Zoom guest lecture Tuesday February 25: Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights
  - - Zoom link for Tuesday's class: https://umich.zoom.us/j/99321218258
- Read:
  - Casebook pp. 345-411
  - Supplement pp. 12-14
  - 17 USC §§ 101, 106, 109, 110, 602
- View:
  - Visit HathiTrust. Find a book that you can read online.
  - Optional:
    - - Visit the Internet Archive's Open Library. Look for a book to borrow.
      - Visit the Ann Arbor District Library. Look for an audiobook that you can download or stream.
- Write:
  - Short essay due February 26

March 3-7: Winter Break

March 10, 11, 13

This would be a good week to make sure that you bring your copy of the copyright statute with you to class.

- Review Casebook pp. 400-411
- Read:
  - Casebook pp. 413-53, 661-76
  - 17 USC §§ 101, 110, 114, 115, 401, 402, 408, 410, 411, 412, 1001, 1008, 1401
  - 1909 Act §§ 1, 10, 11, 12, 19, 20, 21 (another copy of the 1909 Act is here)
  - Read the US Copyright Office's explanation (Links to an external site.) of the 2018 Music Modernization Act
    - Optional: Watch a 60-second promo from the MLC
- Listen:
  - - Listen to Salsoul's recording of Love Break and Madonna's recording of Vogue
- Write:
  - Second statutory drafting exercise

March 17, 18, 20

- Review pages 661-76 of the Casebook
- Read:
  - Duration problems for class discussion
  - Casebook pp. 676-711, 715-24
  - Supplement p. 46
  - 17 USC §§ 101, 104, 104A, 201, 202, 203, 204, 302, 303, 304, 305, 401, 402, 408, 410, 411, 412
  - 1909 Act §§ 2, 13, 24, 26, 27, 28 (another copy of the 1909 Act is here)
- Write:
  - Assignment, Renewal, and Termination Problem Set due March 19

March 24, 25, 27

Guest Lecture Monday March 24: Rachel Goldberg, Counsel, Davis Wright Tremaine

- Read:
  - Casebook pp. 489-508, 517-24
  - Supplement pp. 17-30
  - 17 USC § 107
- Listen:
  - Compare Roy Orbison's Oh Pretty Woman with Two Live Crew's Pretty Woman
- View:
  - Visit the website of the Organization for Transformative Works. Look around.
- Write:
  - Short essay due March 26

March 31, April 1,3

- Read:
  - Supplement pp. 31-43
  - Casebook pp. 535-84
  - 17 USC §§ 107, 501
- View:
  - Check out the Internet Archive's Great 78 Project.
  - Explore University California-Berkeley's UC BEARS digital course reserves program
- Optional:
  - Read the Amicus Curiae brief filed by Professors Rebecca Tushnet, Matthew Sag, Zahr Said, and Jessica Silbey in Kadrey v. Meta.
- Write:
  - Short essay due April 2

April 7, 8, 10

Guest lecture Monday April 7: Corynne McSherry, Legal Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation

- - Zoom link for Monday's class: https://umich.zoom.us/j/99321218258
Read:

- Read:
  - Casebook pp. 585-86, 590-94, 602-658
  - Supplement pp. 44-45
  - 17 USC §§ 501, 502, 503, 504, 512
- View:
  - Explore the Lumen project
  - Optional: Read NYU Engelberg Center's blog post, How Explaining Copyright Broke the YouTube Copyright System
- Write:
  - Short essay due April 9

April 14, 15, 17

Guest lecture Thursday April 17: Justin MacLean, shareholder, GreenbergTraurig

- Read:
  - Casebook pp. 731-68, 859-96
  - Supplement p. 53
  - 17 USC §§ 201, 202, 204, 501, 1201
- View:
  - Explore CreativeCommons.org
  - Optional:
    - View the 2024 rule adopting temporary exemptions to §1201(a)(1)
- Write:
  - Third Statutory drafting exercise (due Thursday 4-17 at 5 pm)

April 21, 22

- Please bring your laptops to class on Monday April 21. The first 15 minutes of class will be devoted to filling out course evaluations. After that, we will talk about your statutory drafts before moving to the assigned reading.
- Read:
  - Casebook pp. 775-98, 804-17, 832-46
  - Supplement pp. 47-51
  - 17 USC §§ 501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 1501, 1504, 1505, 1506
  - Handout
- View:
  - Explore the Copyright Claims Board website and handbook

Learning outcomes:

Over the course of the semester you will become well-versed in the provisions of the copyright statute and its construction by courts
You will gain skill in reading, interpreting, and writing statutory language
You will have many opportunities to examine the degree to which the current copyright law is well-designed to achieve the sometimes conflicting goals of promoting innovation, encouraging the creation and enjoyment of new creative works, enabling authors to earn money from the works they create, and furthering the wide dissemination of knowledge and art.

Reading, Viewing, and Listening Assignments:

This syllabus will change, often. I will frequently add additional optional examples to look at/listen to as a followup to our class discussion. If we get behind or ahead, I will adjust the reading assignments. Try to check the syllabus at least once every week.

Weekly writing assignments:

I encourage you to work on the weekly writing assignments with other members of the class. Each of you should upload your own copy of your assignment to Canvas in order to get credit for completing it.
The writing assignments are mandatory. You must turn all of them in to receive credit for the course. (I will accept late assignments until midnight on April 24.)
If more than a few of your writing assignments are late or incomplete, that will be reflected in your grade.
You may not use Chat GPT or any other generative AI tool to assist you in completing weekly writing assignments

Final Exam:

The examination in this course will be a 48-hour take-home exam. Your score on the exam will be the primary determinant of your grade in the course.
You may not use Chat GPT or any other generative AI tool to assist you in writing your answers to the exam.
This year's exam is likely to be similar to copyright exams I have given in the past. I have posted several years' worth of final exams along with model answers here, in a folder named "Past years' exams (with answers)".

Class Participation and Attendance:

I will post a list of students designated as "on call" for each week, and will expect those students to be prepared for cold calls during those weeks. If you are assigned to a week that doesn't work for you, arrange to trade weeks with a classmate and let me know in advance. For some classes (e.g., discussions of your statutory drafting exercises), everyone should expect that they may be called on; I'll let you know about those. I also welcome and hope to rely heavily on volunteers.
In the event that you find a particular topic too painful to discuss or are otherwise unable to participate in a particular class discussion, let me know, and I will instead call on you in a later class.
I will post a pdf file showing my keynote slides to Canvas following each class. In addition, classes will be recorded, and the audio recordings will be available through Canvas.
The American Bar Association requires all law schools to enforce a policy requiring regular attendance. I insist that you attend classes regularly. If you feel sick, however, don't come to school. Listen to the recording instead.
It is the policy and desire of the Law School to provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. Students who may require some type of accommodation should speak with Angela Baugher (abaugher@umich.edu) in the Law School Office of Student Life (734-764-0516) or with Natalie Ridgeway (rnatali@umich.edu), the Law School's SSD Coordinator at the University Services for Students with Disabilities (https://ssd.umich.edu/(Links to an external site.)).
Laptop use during class sessions is not permitted. Please do not use laptop computers or tablets to take notes in class. If you have a disability that requires you to use an electronic device, please speak with Angela Baugher or Natalie Ridgeway to arrange for an appropriate accommodation.

Office Hours

I will hold office hours on Wednesday afternoons from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm, and by appointment