Learning about ...
Copyright Law and Its Close Neighbors:
Law 410
led
by Peter W. Martin
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 Scope and Importance This course, offered during fall term 2004, provides an introduction to copyright law and closely related legal regimes for non-law students. Copyright law has become increasingly important as the U.S. has shifted from a predominantly manufacturing economy to an information economy, with such products as software, recorded music, movies, and TV assuming major importance as exports, and digital distribution exploding. The course provides a overview of U.S. copyright law and the relationship between copyright and contractual license, trademark, patent, and the "right of publicity" as these other regimes relate to information products. The survey begins with the substantive and procedural requirements that surround copyright protection. It proceeds to survey the rights granted copyright holders and important limits on those rights such as "fair use." How infringement is established, what remedies are available, and other important features of copyright litigation are covered. Issues raised by new information technologies and recent amendments addressing them receive special attention. Finally because of the growing importance of the global market for copyright-protected products, the international copyright system is also addressed. Nature of the Materials and the Course The bulk of the instruction and discussion will be conducted on-line. However, each week I'll conduct an "understanding the law" session designed to introduce the distinctive language, documents, and research methods necessary for an understanding of copyright law's primary documents (the act and federal court decisions) and the online presentations dealing with them. In addition, the course TAs will conduct a weekly session and be available for individual consultation. Those meetings aside, this course consists of five interconnected components: (1) background presentations on a sequence of topics that, together, introduce the field, (2) a companion set of assigned readings, (3) a fully integrated set of probes, tutorials, problems, and exercises designed to assist each participant to develop and test his or her mastery of the material, topic by topic, (4) a Web-based conference that functions as an online extension of classroom discussion, and (5) a set of Copyright Law reference materials. Is this course for you? The course is designed for students in fields other than law that are significantly affected by copyright -- information science, journalism, other forms of writing and publishing, the visual arts, music, and business, to name a few. No background in law is assumed, but a willingness to work with such undigested legal materials as the copyright act itself and court decisions interpreting it is essential. The course syllabus and course readings are here for your inspection. Since much of the instruction will take place on-line, students taking this course must be able to work independently, finding the necessary time for its weekly presentations, assignments, and problems in their weekly schedules without having those times assigned. It will require the same commitment of time, study, and effort as a conventional, fully classroom-based course. The course has numerous deadlines. If you need constant reminders to get work done on time this form of course instruction will be a challenge. "Working independently" need not mean working alone. With the exception of the required mastery exercises and the final exam, students are permitted (even encouraged) to listen to the presentations and address the problems in groups of two or more. The course demands a fairly high familiarity and comfort level with the Web environment. If you can download and run applications, browse the Web, install software, manage files, and regularly communicate via e-mail, this should not be a problem. If, on the other hand, you are hesitant and unsure about using the Web unless you have a course partner who can provide "technical assistance" this course may not be for you. For more details on this aspect of the course see the "getting acquainted" material below.
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