Intellectual Property

This lesson will introduce you to the GNU/Linux operating system and its interaction with Copyright Law.

This lesson introduces the student to the doctrine and processes involved in interpreting state and federal statutes. Statutes are a critical part of every substantive area of the law, so this is important background for every student, legal professional, lawyer and judge.

This lesson is a follow up to the European Union-Trademark Basics lesson. It presents additional information concerning two topics: "Unusual" marks and Exhaustion of trademark rights. (With regard to the latter, there is a comparison with U.S.

Likelihood of confusion is a core concept in trademark law. This lesson is designed to teach the basics of confusion, as well as some more advanced aspects of the topic. It requires students to work through the multifactor analysis used by courts with specific problems.

This lesson follows the Distribution Right lesson, CPY16. This lesson can best be characterized as the Limitation on the Distribution Right.

This lesson examines the scope of one of the exclusive rights belonging to a copyright owner -- the right to create derivative works based on the copyrighted work, under 17 U.S.C. § 106(2).

This lesson provides an introduction to one of the Copyright Act's section 106 exclusive rights, the distribution right.

This lesson deals with the "useful article" limitation on protection of pictorial, graphic and sculptural works under copyright law.

This lesson introduces the user to the copyright issues that pertain to sound recordings.

This lesson explores the application of the fair use doctrine, a defense to copyright infringement, in the special context of parody, based on the guidance provided by the Supreme Court in Campbell v. Acuff Rose Music, 510 U.S. 569 (1994).

This lesson is an introduction to the principles governing copyright infringement. After completing this lesson, you will be familiar with the standard used to determine liability for copyright infringement. Specifically, the lesson will introduce the elements necessary to support a claim of copyright infringement, which include assessments of copying, access, probative resemblance, striking similarity, improper appropriation, and substantial similarity.

Because copyright creates ownership rights in original expression, the private property interests of copyright owners sometimes come into conflict with the public's interest in disseminating knowledge, expressing ideas, or simply enjoying, sharing, and building upon the protected expression. This lesson introduces the basic concept of fair use in copyright law, and offers numerous examples to test the student's ability to apply the balancing test of 17 U.S.C. § 107.

This lesson covers some of the basic formalities of copyright: notice, registration, and deposit. Attention is given to changes wrought by the 1976 Act and the Berne Convention Implementation Act.

This lesson reviews the threshold principles of ownership by analyzing the "works made for hire" doctrine codified in the Copyright Act of 1976.

This lesson gives an overview of the basics of the European Union's trademark system. The emphasis is on issues of registration and infringement. It often uses a comparative approach, with the U.S. system as a foil.

This lesson explores a copyright holder's right to control the performance and display of the related work of authorship.

This lesson explores the protection of architectural works (building designs) both under the 1976 Copyright Act and after adoption of the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act of 1990.

This lesson addresses the protection afforded to compilations (including collective works) under United States copyright law.

This lesson discusses the requirement that a work be "fixed in a tangible medium of expression" as a condition to obtaining copyright protection. Although it assumes a basic familiarity with copyright law and terminology, it is designed to stand alone. It can, therefore, be used either as an introduction to the fixation requirement or as a review of those concepts after a class discussion.

This lesson explores the concept of a "joint work" in copyright law, including the legal standards which determine whether a work has been jointly authored as well as the legal consequences that attach to this characterization.

This lesson provides an overview of the central role of "use" in United States trademark law. It examines how the policy justifications driving trademark law (1) justify generally requiring use to obtain and maintain trademark rights and related infringement considerations and (2) define sufficient use for those trademark law purposes. It also addresses and explains the few specific exceptions to the use requirement. The lesson assumes a basic knowledge of trademark policy, the distinctiveness classification system and infringement. 

This lesson introduces the rules governing trademark assignments and licenses under common law and the Lanham Act. It may be used either as review or as the initial introduction to the topic.

This lesson introduces you to the rules governing the award of injunctive relief in actions for trademark infringement. In trademark infringement cases, the harm or loss suffered by a plaintiff is often difficult to prove because of the lack of evidence of a causal connection between the harm and the defendant's wrongful conduct. To account for this evidentiary shortfall, the judicial preference in awarding relief in trademark infringement cases is injunctive relief. Despite this judicial preference, monetary remedies remain available for trademark infringement.