Dear SEP Families,
In Session 3, we looked at the history of copyright law and Thomas Jefferson’s assertion that the purpose of copyright was (and is) to advance the sciences and art.
From that lofty pinnacle, we plummeted down into the minutiae of current copyright cases. We had vigorous debates on the merits of the “Blurred Lines” litigation, the “lame” claim against Zed Leppelin for the introduction to the song “Stairway to Heaven,” and both versions of “Pretty Woman” (Roy Orbison’s iconic ditty and 2LiveCrew’s rather vulgar 1994 parody that modified judicial views on commentary). Your students determined rapper Vanilla Ice’s was co-optation of Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” for his song “Ice, Ice, Baby” was galling. Copyright infringement with respect to music was the most intuitive portion of our work and the most easily grasped.
Our guest lecturer, Professor Brandon Butler, did a presentation that was most applicable: how copyright and fair use infuse students’ academic and social lives. Whether they are writing papers, creating websites, or uploading to social media, fair use is implicated. They were especially keen to learn Google/YouTube current policy of automatic monetization when copyrighted works are broadcast. Professor Butler’s PDF should be included in your student’s folder.
Your student worked in a group of four in the computer lab for four of the nine days of class time. They began their research with a case the Supreme Court will hear next term on cheerleading uniforms. (Yes, high school cheerleading uniforms.) The question raised: copyright law asserts a “useful item” [such as a uniform] is not subject to copyright unless….and it’s the unless the Court and your students find challenging.
Then, they moved to the mechanics of the Copyright Act: how are items registered? How much deference should courts afford the Copyright Office?
On our last lab day, I assigned your student two cases for research that are emblematic of the breadth and depth of copyright law. One student examined a case from 1826 about a bootleg cartographer; another looked at the endless litigation between Viacom and Google, and Google and Oracle. I am quite impressed by their work and know you must be immeasurably proud of them. You can see what they have wrought in the blue folder they’ve brought home.
In Session 3, we looked at the history of copyright law and Thomas Jefferson’s assertion that the purpose of copyright was (and is) to advance the sciences and art.
From that lofty pinnacle, we plummeted down into the minutiae of current copyright cases. We had vigorous debates on the merits of the “Blurred Lines” litigation, the “lame” claim against Zed Leppelin for the introduction to the song “Stairway to Heaven,” and both versions of “Pretty Woman” (Roy Orbison’s iconic ditty and 2LiveCrew’s rather vulgar 1994 parody that modified judicial views on commentary). Your students determined rapper Vanilla Ice’s was co-optation of Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” for his song “Ice, Ice, Baby” was galling. Copyright infringement with respect to music was the most intuitive portion of our work and the most easily grasped.
Our guest lecturer, Professor Brandon Butler, did a presentation that was most applicable: how copyright and fair use infuse students’ academic and social lives. Whether they are writing papers, creating websites, or uploading to social media, fair use is implicated. They were especially keen to learn Google/YouTube current policy of automatic monetization when copyrighted works are broadcast. Professor Butler’s PDF should be included in your student’s folder.
Your student worked in a group of four in the computer lab for four of the nine days of class time. They began their research with a case the Supreme Court will hear next term on cheerleading uniforms. (Yes, high school cheerleading uniforms.) The question raised: copyright law asserts a “useful item” [such as a uniform] is not subject to copyright unless….and it’s the unless the Court and your students find challenging.
Then, they moved to the mechanics of the Copyright Act: how are items registered? How much deference should courts afford the Copyright Office?
On our last lab day, I assigned your student two cases for research that are emblematic of the breadth and depth of copyright law. One student examined a case from 1826 about a bootleg cartographer; another looked at the endless litigation between Viacom and Google, and Google and Oracle. I am quite impressed by their work and know you must be immeasurably proud of them. You can see what they have wrought in the blue folder they’ve brought home.
Resources for Continued Learning
Additional learning opportunities are found at the Electronic Frontier Foundation https://www.eff.org/, the U.S. Copyright Office (www.copyright.gov) and for the pending case Varsity Brands, LLC v Star Athletica, LLC, please see the Supreme Court website (www.supremecourt.gov).
Thank you for being a part of SEP 2016 Session 3!
Thank you for being a part of SEP 2016 Session 3!
