Transcript Introduction to the Law

Jody Blanke, Professor
Computer Information Systems and Law
Mercer University, Atlanta
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Copyright Law
 Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution
 To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by
securing for limited times to authors and inventors the
exclusive right to their respective writings and
discoveries
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Copyright Clause
 “The Copyright Clause was intended ‘to be the engine
of free expression’ …To that end, copyright laws have
been enacted to achieve three main goals:
 the promotion of learning,
 the protection of the public domain, and
 the granting of an exclusive right to the author.”

SunTrust v. Houghton Mifflin (11th Cir. 2001)
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Copyright Act of 1790
 Applied to books, maps and charts
 Term: 14 years (renewable for 14 years)
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Copyright Act of 1976
 Applies to literary works, musical works, dramatic
works, pantomimes and choreographic works,
pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, motion
pictures and other audiovisual works, sound
recordings, and architectural works
 Term: life of the author plus 50 years
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Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act
of 1998
 Extended the term of copyright protection to life of the
author plus 70 years
 Added 20 years of protection to existing works still
protected by copyright
 Eldred v. Ashcroft (2003)
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Federal Copyright Interest
 Upon fixation in a tangible medium
 No requirement to file
 Owner has right to reproduce, sell,
rent, lease, lend, perform, display,
prepare derivative work
 Subject to some limitations or
exceptions
 “Fair use”
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Fair Use
 Section 107 of the Copyright Act
 “[T]he fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes
such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching
(including multiple copies for classroom use),
scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of
copyright. In determining whether the use made of a
work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be
considered shall include—”
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Fair Use Factors
 The purpose and character of the use, including
whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for
nonprofit educational purposes
 The nature of the copyrighted work, i.e., fact v. fiction
 The amount and substantiality of the portion used in
relation to the whole
 The effect of the use upon the potential market for or
value of the work
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Sony Betamax Case (1984)
 In 1982 several movie and television studios sued Sony
to prevent its manufacture and sale of the Betamax
video tape recorder
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Sony Betamax Case (1984)
 Mr. Rogers testified for
the defense
 Supreme Court held that
“time-shifting” was a
legitimate, non-infringing
fair use
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Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music (1994)
 2 Live Crew recorded a satirical version of Roy
Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman”
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Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music (1994)
 Supreme Court held that it was a fair use
 The Court focused on the song’s “transformative”
character
 the parody was not a substitute for the original
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Parody
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Parody
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Parody
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Parody
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SunTrust v. Houghton Mifflin (2001)
 Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals case
 Excellent history and discussion of copyright law and
fair use
 “The Copyright Clause was intended ‘to be the engine
of free expression’ …To that end, copyright laws have
been enacted to achieve three main goals:
 the promotion of learning,
 the protection of the public domain, and
 the granting of an exclusive right to the author.”
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