syllabus

Reading Assignments

Note: There will be no classes on 8/20 and 8/22 (Classes Have Been Rescheduled).

Class 1 (8/27): Fixation and Originality

• Casebook 49–72

• Comics: Keith Aoki, James Boyle & Jennifer Jenkins, Tales from the Public Domain: BOUND BY LAW? (2008) (optional)

Class 2 (8/29): Fixation and Originality (Cont’d); The Idea/Expression Dichotomy

• Casebook 72–79; 90–104

Note: There will be no class on 9/3 (Labor Day).

Class 3 (9/5): Derivative Works and Compilations

• Casebook 109–13; 121–32

Class 4 (9/10): Authorship

• Casebook 137–53; 160–67

Class 5 (9/12): Useful Articles

• Casebook 177–92

• Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc., 137 S. Ct. 1002 (2017) (Read the Majority Opinion Only)

Class 6 (9/17): Computer Software

• Casebook 206–29

Class 7 (9/19): The Reproduction Right

• Casebook 247–70

Class 8 (9/24): The Reproduction Right (Cont’d); The Derivative Work Right

• Casebook 270–77; 308–33

Class 9 (9/26): The Distribution Right

• Casebook 345–60; 364–77

Class 10 (10/1): Communication to the Public by Performance or Display

• Casebook 377–94; 396–406

Class 11 (10/3): Copyright and Artificial Intelligence

Guest Speaker:  Prof. Doris Estelle Long, John Marshall Law School, Chicago

Classes 12-13 (10/5-6): 4th Annual Texas A&M Intellectual Property Scholars Roundtable

You are required to attend 2 of the sessions at your preferred time.

Note: There will be no classes on 10/8 and 10/10 (Fall Break).

Class 14 (10/15): Copyright in Musical Works and Sound Recordings

• Casebook 409–29

• How Copyright Law May Affect Pop Music Without Our Knowing It, 83 UMKC L. Rev. 363 (2014) (Read Parts II and VI)

Class 15 (10/17): Copyright Infringement

• Casebook 483–90; 492–509

Class 16 (10/22): Device Manufacturers and Liability for Inducement

• Casebook 417–19; 538–53

• Digital Copyright and Confuzzling Rhetoric, 13 Vand. J. Ent. & Tech. L. 881 (2011) (Read Parts I to III)

Class 17 (10/24): Fair Use

• Casebook 563–86; 602–09

Class 18 (10/29): Fair Use (Cont’d)

• Casebook 622–45

Class 19 (10/31): Formalities and Duration

• Casebook 651–82

Class 20 (11/5): Renewals and Terminations of Transfers

• Handout

• Casebook 686–99

Class 21 (11/7): Modes of Transfer

• Casebook 705–31

Class 22 (11/12): Technological Protections

• Casebook 861–83

• Anticircumvention and Anti-anticircumvention (Read Part II.A)

Class 23 (11/20): The U.S. Copyright Office

Guest Speaker:  Ralph Oman, U.S. Register of Copyrights (1985–1993)

Class 24 (11/19): Statutory Overview and Review Session

Syllabus (Fall 2017)

Syllabus (Fall 2016)

Syllabus (Fall 2015)