Law Commons^™

The Effects Of The Fair Use Doctrine On Text-Book Publishing And Copying; Part Ii, Roger Billings

Akron Law Review

Although not expressly authorized by law, it has, through custom, become regarded as a fair use for scholars to make handwritten copies of copyrighted materials needed for research. The basis for allowing hand-copying is that it is such a slow, tedious method of reproduction that scholars usually choose to purchase the complete work rather than to hand-copy excerpts from it. Consequently, hand-copying does not significantly reduce publishers' sales. However, this reasoning obviously cannot be applied to photocopying. As photocopying, a fast and convenient process, becomes cheaper than buying the book, when a professor desires to make a complete volume for …

The Effect Of The Fair Use Doctrine On Text-Book Publishing And Copying, Roger Billings

Akron Law Review

Perhaps nowhere will photocopying be more beneficial than in the field of education. The question is, what effect will it have on publishing? Senator Quentin Burdick stated the basic problem when he said, ". . . [Y]ou have someone who spends years in perfecting a textbook, and all of a sudden it is used free of charge. Where does he sell textbooks?" The problem of unauthorized photocopying of textbooks is considered one of the more difficult ones encountered in the area of fair use, an area itself regarded as one of the most troublesome in the whole law of copyright. …

The Protection Of Property Rights In Computer Software, Edward W. Rilee

Akron Law Review

During the last decade a number of attempts have been made by the courts in the realm of patent and copyright law to settle the issue of the protection of property rights in computer software. These traditional methods of protection, however, have not been able to assimilate this relatively new technological invention. Likewise, at the start of a new decade, little or no progress towards a comprehensive form of software protection can be detected. This paper will examine the problems associated with using federal patent or copyright law to provide computer software protection and discuss why state trade secret protection …

You Can't Always Get What You Want But Digital Sampling Can Get What You Need!, Ronald Mark Wells

Akron Law Review

This comment will examine copyright law, its role in the popular music industry, and its relationship with digital sampling. To lay the groundwork, Part I will examine the function of copyright law as it relates to musical compositions. Part II will then peruse the area of sound recordings. Finally, Part III will take a critical look at digital sound sampling and its legitimacy in relation to present copyright law

Film Artists Bushwhacked By The Coloroids: One-Hundredth Congress To The Rescue?, Nicholas Swyrydenko

Akron Law Review

The late, great film director, John Huston, in a videotaped speech prepared specially before his death for presentation at a Senate hearing on the issue of the colorization of black and white films, raged that he and other film artists, who had worked to produce such classic films as The Maltese Falcon, were being "bushwhacked by the coloroids," and he pleaded with Congress to step in to preserve that work.' This comment will trace the response of the One-Hundredth Congress to the pleas of John Huston and other film artists to preserve the original integrity of their films, and …

Copyright Infringement Of Musical Compositions: A Systematic Appproach, E. Scott Fruehwald

Akron Law Review

This article addresses the problems that courts face when dealing with copyright infringement of musical compositions. Infringement of music presents special problems for judges and juries because music is an intuitive art that is nonverbal and nonvisual. Consequently, traditional methods of establishing infringement are often unreliable when applied to music.

This paper will concentrate on the question of whether a composition that is similar to, but not the same as, another work infringes on the other work. I This inquiry is both qualitative and quantitative. First, one must establish that the first work employs material from the second work. Determining …

Copyright Tensions In A Digital Age, John D. Shuff, Geoffrey T. Holtz

Akron Law Review

The rapid and exponential expansion of our ability to duplicate and disseminate information by digital means has rejuvenated inherent tensions in the law pertaining to copyright and has created some new ones. Not since the advent of radio in the early 1900s have such tensions come so squarely into focus. Even though courts are rarely, if ever, called upon to address certain of these tensions since the passage of the Copyright Act of 1976, they are being called upon to do so now

The Medium Is The Message: Copyright Law Confronts The Information Age In New York Times V. Tasini, Mark B. Radefeld

Akron Law Review

This Note analyzes the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in New York Times Co. v. Tasini and its implications for the future of copyright law and electronic publishing. Part II of this Note documents the background of copyright law, and details how the default provisions of §201(c) govern the publisher-author relationship. Part III of this Note introduces the parties and circumstances surrounding the Tasini case. Part III continues by outlining the District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Supreme Court decisions in this landmark case. Part IV of this …

Second Level Agreements, Yafit Lev-Aretz

Akron Law Review

This Article analyzes in-depth a significant practice that has not been recognized in legal scholarship. Their unique structure and the way in which Second Level Agreements have developed within the relatively short time of their existence have important consequences for the various players in the copyright market...The Article also offers a normative assessment of the benefits and shortcomings of the Second Level Agreements practice...The Article then carefully looks at the future of Second Level Agreements while reviewing four potential catalysts—the shift towards premium content, the Viacom v. Google ruling, the move towards disintermediation, and the rise of noncommercial licensing system. …

Work Made For Hire – Analyzing The Multifactor Balancing Test, Ryan G. Vacca

Akron Law Faculty Publications

Authorship, and hence, initial ownership of copyrighted works is oftentimes controlled by the 1976 Copyright Act’s work made for hire doctrine. This doctrine states that works created by employees within the scope of their employment result in the employer owning the copyright. One key determination in this analysis is whether the hired party is an employee or independent contractor. In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court, in CCNV v. Reid, answered the question of how employees are distinguished from independent contractors by setting forth a list of factors courts should consider. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court did not give further guidance on …