Intellectual Property

MBU 3520.01 (3 credits)

MBU 3520.01 MWF 9:00 – 9:50 AM MC 200B

MBU 3520.01 [CRN 20257] 9:00 – 9:50 AM MC 200B

MBU 3520.02 [CRN 20258] 11:00 – 11:50 AM MC 209B

MBU 1110.01 [CRN 20228] 8:00 – 8:50 AM MC 200B

MBU 1110.06 [CRN 20233] 2:00 – 2:50 PM MC 109

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 is the first class

Monday, May 1, 2006 is the last class

(The syllabus, projects list, bibliography and other materials are also found at www.emichaelharrington.com)

Spring 2006

Syllabus

Professor: Dr. E. Michael Harrington, Professor of Entertainment and Music Business

http://www.emichaelharrington.com/about_harrington/

Office: Barbara Massey Hall. Room 350. Office hours: TBA

Phone/Voice Mail: 615-460-5473

Classroom: MC 200B

Email: harringtone@mail.belmont.edu

Final Exam: at the specific time and date scheduled by Belmont University

Text/Materials: Copyright Law by Richard Stim (2000), West Legal Studies,

Thomson Learning, Albany, New York ISBN 0-82737-988-9

A sharpened pencil (pencil and textbook must be brought to each class)

It is required that students download Title 17 of the United States Code. This can be found at http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/ or www.copyright.gov

Internet: The student will frequently be required to read from contemporary online news resources such as the New York Times (reading and downloading are free but registration is necessary), Wired, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Deep Links, Tech Law Journal, Future of Music Coalition and other sites including blogs, podcasts and webcasts. The NY Times, Wired, EFF’s Deep Links, Tech Law Journal and FMC sites can be found at:

www.nytimes.com

www.wired.com

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/

www.techlawjournal.com

www.futureofmusic.org

Because many articles found online are posted for only 24 hours (especially those from the NY Times), students will have to read and/or download articles from the Internet in a timely manner, purchase the articles, or perform a Lexis Nexis search.

Quotes

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Sir Isaac Newton (1675)

“If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of everyone, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it. Its peculiar character, too, is that no one possesses the less, because every other possesses the whole of it. He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition, seems to have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature, when she made them, like fire, expansible over all space, without lessening their density at any point, and like the air in which we breathe, move, and have our physical being, incapable of confinement or exclusive appropriation. Inventions then cannot, in nature, be a subject of property.” - Thomas Jefferson (1813)

Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Isaac McPherson (Aug. 13, 1813), in 13 THE WRITINGS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON 326, 333-34 (Albert Ellery Bergh ed., 1907)

“The general rule of law is, that the noblest of human productions – knowledge, truths ascertained, conceptions and ideas – become after voluntary communication to others, free as the air to common use.” - Justice Brandeis (1918)

"This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin’ it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ours, cause we don't give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's all we wanted to do." - Woody Guthrie on his “This Land Is Your Land,” and copyright (1940’s)

“The immediate effect of our copyright law is to secure a fair return for an author’s creative labor. But the ultimate aim is, by this incentive, to stimulate artistic creativity for the public good.” - U. S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart (1975)

“Accordingly, the sale of copying equipment, like the sale of other articles of commerce, does not constitute contributory infringement if the product is widely used for legitimate, unobjectionable purposes. Indeed, it need merely be capable of substantial noninfringing uses.” U. S. Supreme Court Justice John

Paul Stevens in SONY CORP. v. UNIVERSAL CITY STUDIOS, INC., 464 U.S. 417 (January 17, 1984)

"Are you headed to junior high schools to round up the usual suspects?”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to RIAA President Cary Sherman, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, in reference to a lawsuit the RIAA filed on September 8, 2003 against 12 year old honor student, Brianna LaHara. (September 9, 2003)

"Lawsuits on 12-year-old kids for downloading music, duping a mother into paying a $2,000 settlement for her kid? Those scare tactics are pure Gestapo." Chuck D of Public Enemy (September 11, 2003)

“Record companies suing 12-year-old girls for file sharing is kind of like horse-and-buggy operators suing Henry Ford." Moby (September 11, 2003)

"I just feel that these people [the RIAA] are bullies. They're like the show-business version of the Taliban." Grokster President Wayne Rosso, a member of the P2P United trade group (September 11, 2003)

“The recording industry should be giving America’s millions of filesharers the same deal that radio stations have had for decades: pay a fair fee, play whatever you want on whatever software works best for you.”

Cindy Cohn, EFF Legal Director (www.eff.org) (January 21, 2004)

“When someone steals a movie that cost you $120 million, that's theft on a scale that's unimaginable. It's like stealing a hotel.'' Jim Gianopulos, co-chairman of News Corp.'s Fox Filmed Entertainment,

quoted in Bloomberg News, (June 30, 2004)

''It's really a rule that says we don't want courts making up a rule for every new technology that comes along. Only then can technology companies confidently innovate and bring new products to market. The record industry has been too little too late when it comes to meeting the consumer's needs. They have to offer a legitimate product at a fair price, and we think they have a long way to go. The reality is, file sharing is here to stay.'' Fred von Lohmann, Senior Attorney, EFF quoted in the Tennessean,

(March 21, 2005)

“We are in the process of creating a cultural rupture between a younger generation that uses the technologies that companies and societies have made available, such as the iPod, file download software, peer-to-peer networks, etc. It's like condemning people for driving too fast after selling them cars that go 250 kmh." French Judge Dominique Barella to Wired Magazine (May 23, 2005)

Intellectual Property

MBU 3520

This course will introduce the student to the concepts, definitions, theories and practices of intellectual property (IP) along with the main subdivisions of IP – copyright, trademark, patent, unfair competition, trade secrets and right of publicity. The course will primarily cover copyright and copyright infringement, their history, development and present status, as well as the related concepts, definitions and practices of ideas, expressions of ideas, originality, creativity, borrowing, paraphrasing, interpolation, sampling and similarity especially with respect to music. Other forms of IP, including film and video, will be covered cursorily. While defining and explaining these concepts and their evolutions, the course will focus particularly on music copyright and its evolution from 1672, the date of the first copyright law in the colonies which would become the United States, to the most recent laws, court decisions (common law), issues, technological developments and business practices including The INDUCE Act (S. 2560) (June 22, 2004), Database Bill (H.R. 3261), Criminalizing P2P (H.R. 4077), the "PIRATE Act" [Protecting Intellectual Rights Against Theft and Expropriation Act] (S. 2237), the "ART Act" (S. 1932), the Family Movie Act (H.R. 4586), the Artists' Rights and Theft Prevention Act of 2004 (S. 3021), The Intellectual Property Protection Act (H.R. 2391 Omnibus), H.R. 4569: The Digital Transition Content Security Act of 2005 (December 16, 2005), recent legislation and other legislative efforts, common law, and the newest means of digital distribution of intellectual property.

The student will also become familiar with the mechanics of a music copyright infringement action – what happens after the songwriter/artist/publisher suspects that his/her music has been infringed, the roles and qualifications of the attorney and music expert, the evaluation of the music involved, the determination of the strength of a copyright infringement suit, how discovery and depositions take place, what is involved in a trial, an out of court settlement, how litigation can be avoided, and other matters.

Students will study the means by which determinations of infringement are made and, to this extent, examine songs which have been, or could be, considered examples of copyright infringement and determine the legitimacy of these claims. This music will be from rock, country, rap, hip hop, R & B, world music, classical and music from television commercials, and will be drawn from some of the following artists/composers:

2 Live Crew, Abba, Tina Ann, Angie Aparo, Louis Armstrong, Kokomo Arnold, Johann Sebastian Bach, Marty Balin, Bar-Kays, the Beastie Boys, Beatallica, the Beatles, Beck, Christopher Beck, Black Eyed Peas, Michelle Branch, Brazilian Girls, Garth Brooks, Meredith Brooks, Junior Brown, Buffalo Springfield, Café Tacuba, Mariah Carey, Aaron Carter, Johnny Cash, Chicago, The Chiffons, Eric Clapton, George Clinton, Coldplay, Aaron Copland, Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sheryl Crow, Billy Ray Cyrus, Charlie Daniels, Miles Davis, Sammy Davis, Jr., De La Soul, Joe Diffie, Dixie Chicks, Culture Club, Miles Davis, Willie Dixon, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dr. Dre, The Duprees, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Eminem, Melissa Etheridge, Evolution Control Committee, Fatback, Five For Fighting, Flaming Lips, John Fogerty, Red Foley, Willa Ford, Four Tops, The Fugees, Kenny G, Marvin Gaye, George Gershwin, Ghostface Killah, Bebel Gilberto, Grandmaster Flash, Grateful Dead, Al Green, Trilok Gurtu, Hall & Oates, Merle Haggard, Bill Haley, Hardstone, George Harrison, Isaac Hayes, Jimi Hendrix, Faith Hill, John Lee Hooker, Hootie & The Blowfish, Hot Chocolate, Alan Jackson, Michael Jackson, Rick James, Jars Of Clay, Jay-Z, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Jet, Robert Johnson, George Jones, Albert King, Jean Knight, k. d. lang, L. L. Cool J, Avril Lavigne, Led Zeppelin, John Lennon, Kenny Loggins, Barry Manilow, Bob Marley, The Mavericks, Paul McCartney, Country Joe McDonald, Tim McGraw, Metallica, Steve Miller, Moody Blues, Alanis Morissette, Mystikal, Milton Nascimento, Nelly, Newsboys, Nirvana, NWA, Roy Orbison, Kid Ory, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Pearl Jam, Carl Perkins, Steve Perry, Plumb, The Police, Iggy Pop, Prince, Puff Daddy, Queen, Serge Rachmaninoff, Radiohead, Raiders, Collin Raye, Rodgers & Hammerstein, the Rolling Stones, Diana Ross, Kyu Sakamoto, Santana, Seals & Crofts, SheDaisy, Frank Sinatra, Slick Rick, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Soggy Bottom Boys, Soundgarden, Britney Spears, Dusty Springfield, Sporty Thievz, Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart, Stephen Stills, Sting, Igor Stravinsky, Barbra Streisand, Sublime, Sum 41, James Taylor, They Might be Giants, Train, Travis, A Tribe Called Quest, Shania Twain, U2, Keith Urban, Vanilla Ice, Antonio Vivaldi, Junior Walker, Muddy Waters, Weather Report, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Kitty Wells, White Stripes, Hank Williams, Brian Wilson, Steve Winwood, Stevie Wonder, Lucy Woodward, Xscape, Neil Young, Youngbloods, Frank Zappa, ZZ Top and others.

The textbook, and the Bunch library’s resources – books, videos, CD’s, online and physical news sources, online and physical journals, etc. - will be used as primary resources for the course. Students, faculty and staff at Belmont University are extremely fortunate to have access to Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw online services. Students will use and become familiar with these two research services throughout the semester.

Course objectives: To become familiar with the history, development and interrelationship of the disparate forms of intellectual property and their increasing importance in daily life, copyright, copyright infringement, the history of music copyright infringement and the skills by which one determines whether or not a work of authorship is a copyright infringement of another.

Topics To Be Covered: Intellectual property, copyright, copyright law, music copyright infringement, trademark, patents, right of publicity, unfair competition, trade secrets, idea, expression, originality, creativity, borrowing, paraphrasing, interpolation, prior & contemporary sources, substantial similarity, striking similarity, fair use, merger doctrine, sampling, replays, licensing, parody & the 1^st Amendment, the Internet, digital transmission of intellectual property, recent legislation and legislative efforts, common law and other issues noted above.

Lectures will be drawn from the professor’s books, experience, testimony, depositions and research in the field, online and offline writings, recordings, videos, blogs, podcasts, and webcasts as well as the course textbook.

Class: Students are expected to have completed the assigned readings for each class before the beginning of each class. Students can expect to be tested for their comprehension of the assigned readings for each class at the beginning of each class meeting, or at any time during the class meeting.

Class attendance: Class attendance is very important as class discussions, questions, answers and lecture material are central to the course. Students are expected to be present when class begins and remain in class until its conclusion. Attendance for each class will be taken. Attending less than 30 minutes of a class meeting is considered 1.0 absence. Arriving late or leaving early is considered a 0.5 absence, and WILL be factored into the student’s grade. A student who arrives late for class, or leaves early, must inform the professor of his/her attendance on that day, otherwise the attendance record will indicate that the student missed 1.0 class instead of 0.5 class

12.5 absences (or more) WILL result in a grade of “F.” This policy applies to all students, including seniors who expect to graduate.

Students who arrive late on the day when a quiz is given will not be allowed to take the quiz.

Tests: Tests can only be made up if there is an excused absence, approved in advance by the professor or the Office of the Provost, and the professor is notified no later than twenty-four hours after the exam was given. Failure to notify and/or provide a valid, written excuse if requested will result in a grade of zero. Quizzes may or may not be announced in advance. Quizzes cannot be made up.

A missed test can only be made up at the date and time scheduled for the Final Exam. The test will be comprehensive in nature and will count in place of the missing test grade. Only one missed test can be made up.

It is the student’s responsibility to inform the professor, via email, of his/her intention to take the makeup exam. The professor must be notified, via email, of the student’s intention to take the makeup test three (3) days before the date and time of the Final Exam time.

Quizzes: Quizzes may or may not be announced. Quizzes cannot be made up.

Homework: Homework will not be accepted late.

Due Dates:

Topics/Moot Court members & songs: Friday, February 24, 2006

Annotated bibliography: Friday, March 17, 2006 (hard copy)

Paper/Moot Court paper: Monday, April 24, 2006 (hard copy)

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Students must choose to complete either Project A or Project B.

All papers must be written in 3^rd person, and be of a formal nature. DO NOT write in the 1^st person.

Papers/In-Class Presentations/Moot Court: Each student will be responsible for EITHER writing one (1) research paper (from Project A: Projects) or participating in one (1) Moot Court (a music copyright infringement trial) and writing a paper advocating his/.her side in the trial (from Project B: Moot Court). Students will receive a grade for their final paper.

Project A - Research Papers/In-Class Presentations: Students who opt to write a research paper will be responsible for writing one (1) paper which, time permitting, will also be given as a brief (10-20 minute) in-class presentation. Students who opt to write a paper MUST work alone (unlike Project B: Moot Court, students will not work with other students), and choose a topic from Project A.

A student who opts to write a paper CANNOT select Project B: Moot Court.

The titles and topics of these research papers/presentations must be approved in advance by the professor. Each student will submit three (3) different topics for research papers (a first, second and third choice). Most often, the first topic will be acceptable. (No topic, however, will be duplicated during the semester, i.e., each student will be writing his/her unique topic.)

The three topics must be submitted to the professor, during class, on Friday, February 24, 2006

It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the availability of sources that will be used in writing the paper. The student should not select topics for which he/she cannot find adequate resources, or for which he or she is not musically or intellectually qualified.

Project B - Moot Court: Students who opt to participate in Moot Court will compare one pair of the songs listed in Project B to determine if there has been a copyright infringement. In each case, it is assumed that the first song of the pair was composed, copyright registered, recorded and distributed prior to the second. Therefore, Moot Court will not involve any consideration of access and instead will revolve around whether the songs are “substantially similar” or not. The copyright owner of the odd numbered song will be the plaintiff; the copyright owner of the even numbered song, will be the defendant. Students will choose to side with the plaintiff or defendant and then find one, two or three other students from the class who agree with their position. In order for a trial to take place, there must be an opposing side that consists of one, two, three of four students. Students will prepare a case for their side, write a detailed analysis and paper to support their view, present evidence, witnesses and give oral arguments in Moot Court.

In Moot Court, at least one (1) person on each side and/or one (1) witness on each side MUST have a good technical knowledge of Western classical music theory as some of the evidence presented MUST be technical in nature. A ‘technical knowledge” means that the person/witness can read and transcribe standard Western music notation, as well as understand number systems (Roman numerals and Arabic numbers) used to describe and notate melody, harmony and rhythm. Furthermore, this person must be able to explain the musical exhibits and/or technical evidence to the judge and jury.

Students participating in Moot Court will try their case in front of a judge, jury and the class. The jury, which will be picked by the professor, will consist of students in the class and/or outsiders. The time allotted for each trial in Moot Court will be flexible but most likely last for one, two or three class meetings, i.e., one-three hours. Instructions for all participants in Moot Court will be given during the semester.

The plaintiffs will be responsible for writing a paper detailing their positions. The defendants will be responsible for writing a paper detailing their positions This paper, unlike the research paper, will be a collective effort. Regardless of the number of participants, there will be one (1) paper submitted by the plaintiffs, and one (1) paper submitted by the defendants. There will be one (1) grade assigned for each side, i.e., every plaintiff will receive the same grade for the collective plaintiffs’ paper, and every defendant will receive the same grade for the collective defendants’ paper. This paper must adhere to the same formalities and requirements as the research paper – MLA standards, documentation, format, etc.

Students will NOT be graded on their in-class presentations in Moot Court.

Winning or losing in Moot Court will have no bearing on the grade given to the Plaintiffs or Defendants.

Students will be graded on their Moot Court PAPER only.

The songs to be tried in Moot Court must be approved in advance and submitted via email to the professor before February 24, 2006. Once the songs and plaintiffs and defendants have been determined, there can be no change in the Moot Court songs, or plaintiffs and defendants.

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The student has access to thousands of resources including Lexis Nexis, Westlaw and a host of other valuable resources through the Bunch Library’s Online Resources, and other “physical” resources at the Bunch Library. The student has also been provided with the extensive bibliography authored by the professor.

Once the topic/case has been approved, the student must complete the paper

on this selected topic/case.

The paper must conform to all MLA standards and contain research from several reputable sources. At least one of these sources should be from the Internet. (The following site will be helpful with using MLA format.)

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html

However, students are cautioned to be wary of the content, accuracy, reliability and legitimacy of Internet sources. This warning is especially appropriate for information found on websites created by fans.

The paper must be typed on 8 1/2” x 11” paper (emailed papers are not acceptable), DOUBLE-SPACED, stapled, have a title page containing the title of the paper and the student’s name and course section, the student’s name at the top right of each page, page numbers on the top right of each page, no misspellings, proper grammar, punctuation, capitalizations, citations and footnotes/endnotes and bibliography. (This bibliography differs from the “annotated bibliography” described below.) The paper must contain New York, Times or Times Roman font of size 12 and be at least 2,000 words in length.

The number, title and exact description of the project, as reprinted exactly from the project list, must appear on the COVER PAGE of the paper. The exact description of the paper, as reprinted on the cover page, must be SINGLE-SPACED (not double-spaced like the rest of the paper), and in New York, Times or Times Roman font of size 10, not size 12.

Failure to adhere to requirements above WILL result in the paper receiving a grade NOT higher than “B+.”

A list of common mistakes, as well as words and phrases that must be avoided in the research paper, will be provided. A few of these are reprinted below:

Common Mistakes: The following mistakes are not permitted. Any research paper/moot court paper that contains any of the following mistakes will result in a grade not higher than “B+.”

“an” when “and” is the intended word (or vice versa);

“base” guitar when “bass” guitar is intended;

“cd” (not capitalized) when “CD” is preferred;

“mp3,” “Mp3,” or “MP Three,” when “MP3” is preferred;

“of,” when “have” is the intended word, e.g., “could have;”

“your” means “of or belonging to you;” “you’re” is a contraction of the words, “you are;”

“its” is possessive; “it’s” means “it is” or “it has;”

“to” is used as a function word to indicate movement; “too” means “very” or “to an excessive degree” or

“in addition.”

Use Arabic numbers when identifying minutes and seconds within a song, CD or DVD, e.g., “2.37” instead of “two minutes and thirty-seven seconds.”

Use Arabic numbers when identifying dates, e.g., “1989” instead of “nineteen hundred eighty-nine.”

Use Arabic numbers when identifying law, e.g., “Title 17” instead of “Title Seventeen.”

All periods and commas must be placed inside quotation marks.

Colons and semicolons must be placed outside of quotation marks.

Please refer to the following website for additional information.

http://www.unlv.edu/faculty/droisen/wlmist.htm

Annotated Bibliography: Students must submit an annotated bibliography after his/her topic has been approved by the professor. This annotated bibliography must list and briefly describe each source - books, articles, websites, laws, interviews conducted by the student, etc. - that will be used in writing the paper.

Those participating in Moot Court must also submit an annotated bibliography. This annotated bibliography must contain the section(s) of law(s) that has (have) been violated, as well as other resources – lists of witnesses, people who will be interviewed, articles, books, websites, etc. – that will be used in writing the paper.

The annotated bibliography must be submitted via hard copy before Friday, March 17, 2006

The annotated bibliography must be submitted in a HARD COPY format, i.e., on paper, not via email.

Failure to submit the annotated BIBLIOGRAPHY on time will result in the grade of the paper being lowered. If the annotated bibliography is received:

1 minute-24 hours after the due date and time, the paper will be lowered one letter grade;

24-48 hours late, the paper will be lowered two letter grades;

48-72 hours late, the paper will be lowered three letter grades;

more than 72 hours late, the paper will be assigned a grade of zero

Students are STRONGLY encouraged to visit the university’s Writing Center for assistance in formulating their ideas, writing, proof reading and editing their papers. Information about the Writing Center is found here:

http://www.belmont.edu/english/dept.cfm?idno=200

Due Dates; Miscellaneous:

Papers and Moot Court papers must be completed and submitted to the professor on time. All papers will be due at the beginning of class on Monday, April 24, 2006.

The Paper must be submitted in a HARD COPY format, i.e., on paper, not via email.

Failure to submit the PAPER on time will result in the grade of the paper being lowered. If the paper is received:

1 minute-24 hours after the due date and time, the paper will be lowered one letter grade;

24-48 hours late, the paper will be lowered two letter grades;

48-72 hours late, the paper will be lowered three letter grades;

more than 72 hours late, the paper will be assigned a grade of zero

In-class presentations must be well-organized and delivered within the specified length of time.

A grade of “A” (90-100) for the paper or Moot Court paper is possible only if it contains original findings, as well as research.

The Professor has found it necessary to state the following:

REMINDER: Books, especially scholarly books, often contain valuable information not available on the Internet. (Book: definition: noun, “a written or printed work, of some length, as a treatise or other literary composition, esp. on consecutive sheets fastened or bound together.”) The student is reminded that sources on the Internet should rarely be the only sources consulted in conducting research for papers or moot court.

The student may find it necessary to physically travel to and enter a “brick and mortar” library in the “real world,” e.g., the Belmont University Bunch Library or the Nashville Public Library, for the purposes of research. Requiring a student to physically travel to a library (or to a bookstore or newsstand, for example), is not making an inordinate demand on the student.

Dishonest Behavior/Cheating: Unless otherwise specified, all work by a student during the semester, inside or outside of a classroom, is to be done independently, i.e., a student's work is to be his/her own and done without the aid of any person, book, notes, websites, etc. Any work not done independently is considered dishonest behavior/cheating.

During quizzes and tests, ALL electronic and/or wireless/Wi-Fi devices (cell phones, PDA’s, laptops, etc.) must be turned off and placed on the floor below the student’s desk.

The class will adhere to the Belmont University Honor System, found at the following site:

http://www.belmont.edu/academics/honorsystem.htm

The Belmont University Student Honor Pledge is stated below:

“I will not give or receive aid during examinations; I will not give or receive false or impermissible aid in course work, in the preparation of reports, or in any other type of work that is to be used by the instructor as the basis of my grade; I will not engage in any form of academic fraud. Furthermore, I will uphold my responsibility to see to it that others abide by the spirit and letter of this Honor Pledge.”

The Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act:

Accommodation of Disabilities: In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Belmont University will provide reasonable accommodation of all medically documented disabilities. If you have a disability and would like the university to provide reasonable accommodations of the disability during this course, please notify Tammye Tanksley, Director of Counseling & Developmental Support in the Office of the Dean of Students (615-460-6407) as soon as possible.

Changes in Syllabus: In the event of unforeseen circumstances, the professor reserves the right to deviate from the syllabus.

Grading:

10% Test 1

15% Test 2

25% Project A (Research paper) or Project B (Moot Court & paper)

30% Quizzes, Assignments

20% FINAL

A+ = 95 - 100

A = 92 - 94

A- = 89 - 91

B+ = 87 – 88

B = 83 – 86

B- = 79 – 82

C+ = 77 – 78

C = 73 – 76

C- = 69 – 72

D+ = 67 – 68

D = 63 – 66

D- = 60 – 62

F = 0 - 59

All work MUST be finished before the beginning of final exams.

Short of an act of God, a grade of “Incomplete” will never be given.

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Outline of classes:

Week 1 1/11 Chapter 1: Copyrights and Intellectual Property

1/13 Chapter 2: Sources of Copyright Law

Week 2 1/16 Martin Luther King Day – no classes

1/18 Chapter 3: What is Protectible Under Copyright Law?

1/20 Chapter 4: Derivatives and Compilations

Week 3 1/23 Chapter 5: What is Not Protectible Under Copyright Law?

Chapter 6: The Bundle of Rights

1/25 Chapter 7: The Rights of the Public: First Sale and Fair Use

1/27 Chapter 8: Educational and Library Uses

Chapter 9: Artwork

Week 4 1/30 Chapter 10: Musical Works and Sound Recordings

2/1 Chapter 11: Computers and the Internet

2/3 TEST 1

Week 5 Copyright Infringement as Reported in the Media

2/6 Mechanics of copyright infringement lawsuit – initial considerations, choosing an attorney, choosing an expert, evaluating both sides, evaluation of expert’s credentials, evaluation of expert’s report, etc.

Assessment of Civil Action No. 3-96 CV 2231-P in the Northern District of Texas Dallas Division (McKinley v. Raye, et al.) Expert Report for the Plaintiff

2/8 TNN, American Journal, Hot Hits

Use of written music in court case, exhibits, strengths/weaknesses of cases, etc.

2/10 Assessment of Civil Action No. 3-96 CV 2231-P

Expert Report for the Defendants

Prior sources, Contemporary sources, Exhibits

Week 6 2/13 Copyright Infringement in Advertising, Steve Perry, Ford Motor Company,

Fujitsu, Bebel Gilberto, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette, Bette Midler, Tom Waits, right of publicity, etc.

2/15 Moot Court songs/IP projects

2/17 Chapter 12: Authorship and Ownership of Copyright

Chapter 13: Works Made for Hire

Week 7 2/20 Chapter 14: Duration of Copyright

Chapter 15: Transfer of Copyright

2/22 Chapter 16: Copyright Research

Chapter 17: Copyright Notice

2/24 All topics and moot court proposals due

Chapter 18: Registration and Choosing Correct Application

Chapter 19: Preparing the Copyright Application

Week 8 2/27 Chapter 20: Deposit Materials

Chapter 21: Processing, Correcting, and Canceling Registration

3/1 TEST 2

3/3 Chapter 22: Copyright Infringement

Spring Break: Saturday, March 4 - Sunday, March 12

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Week 9 3/13 Chapter 23: Defenses to Infringement

3/15 Chapter 24: Remedies of Copyright Infringement

Chapter 25: Resolving a Copyright Dispute Without Litigation

3/17 Annotated bibliography due (hard copy, only)

Chapter 26: Litigation

Chapter 27: International Copyright

Week 10 3/20 The Internet, websites, linking, framing, meta-tags, caching, domain names,

cybersquatting, ICANN, etc.

3/22 Other IP developments (1971-2006) including: Sound Recording Amendment,

1976 U. S. Copyright Act, Sony v. Universal, development of the World Wide Web, Berne, Convention, AHRA, NAFTA, GATT, No Electronic Theft Act, RIAA v. Diamond Multimedia, DMCA, Sonny Bono, SDMI, RIAA v. Napster, RIAA v. MP3.com, MP3, AHRA, NET Act, DMCA, Sonny Bono CTEA, Napster, Gnutella, DeCSS, Freenet, P2P, Tasini v. NY Times, the Napster AOL Time Warner, BMG, EMI MusicNet, the Vivendi Universal Sony pressplay, MP3Pro, the Music Online Competition Act (August 3, 2001), the U. S. Dept. of Justice probe of potential antitrust, copyright and licensing violations of Sony, Vivendi, AOL Time Warner, BMG and EMI (August 6, 2001), the Consumer Broadband Digital Television Promotion Act, H.R. 4569: The Digital Transition Content Security Act of 2005 (December 16, 2005), recent legislation and legislative efforts, common law, and the newest means of digital distribution of intellectual property.

3/24 MEIEA 2006 University of the Pacific

Recent IP developments

Week 11 3/27 Film, Patents, Trademark, Right of Publicity

3/29 Film, Patents, Trademark, Right of Publicity.

Trial Preparation

3/31 Trial Preparation

Week 12 4/3 Cases

4/5 Cases

4/7 Cases

Week 13 4/10 Cases

4/12 Cases

Easter Break Thursday, April 13 – Sunday, April 16 No Classes