Spring 2018 Course Schedule

Advanced Copyright Law & Policy (LAW-924-001)
Robert Kasunic

Meets: 07:00 PM - 09:50 PM (We) - Warren - Room N104

Enrolled: 5 / Limit: 22

Administrator Access


Notices

Assessment: Research Paper, A 3-4 page Memo on a Pending Supreme Court Case; Presentation on Your Paper Topic at the end of the semester, and Class Participation.

Description

The rapid development of digital technology has affected all aspects of copyright law, including digital creation, adaptation, distribution, public performance, and display of works ranging from books, videos, websites, music, sound recordings, apps, programs, databases, dramatic works, and choreography. Traditional limitations on copyright, such as fair use and first sale, are also affected by these technological developments. But changes to the Copyright Act have not kept pace, resulting in recent congressional hearings on copyright reform and revision. Congress, the courts, and the Copyright Office struggle with these emerging issues as well as basic copyright doctrines, such as the copyrightablility of functional works, the standard for infringement, and the merger doctrine. This course will explore recent cases, such as the Blurred Lines infringement suit and the Varsity Brands case before the Supreme Court as well as congressional proposals. Topics for the course will vary based on student interests. The primary focus of the course is the selection and development of a focused research topic of the student’s choice. This research paper may also be used to fulfill the upper level writing requirement in this course and LLM students are welcome. Class assignments will be selected to enhance critical analysis of case law and methods of statutory and regulatory interpretation.

Textbooks and Other Materials

The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.

All of the readings for the course will be made available on MyWCL, are available on freely on the Internet, or via Lexis or Westlaw.

First Class Readings

The first class reading assignment is as follows:

• John Tehranian, Infringement Nation: Copyright Reform and the Law/Norm Gap (2007) available on SSRN (click the download link near the top of the page).

• Jessica Litman, Billowing White Goo

Both papers are freely available on the Internet.

Syllabus

Use your MyAU username and password to access the syllabus in the following format(s):