Columbus School of Law

The Catholic University of America

Spring 2000

Professor Susanna Fischer

Welcome to our class Web site! This Web site will be updated throughout the term with additional reading assignments and other information.

Follow this link to access the threaded discussion forum for this class. Please check it regularly for recent developments! http://home.cua.edu/forums/forum.cfm?ID=2
Follow this link to access the Updated Reading List (updated as of April 21 to cover classes through April 28, 2000, the final class of the semester).
Follow this link to access the Final Examination Information Page for this course (last updated on April 24, 2000).

UPDATE AS OF MARCH 29: COPYRIGHT HYPOTHETICALS page has a termination hypothetical as well as a sample exam essay question. You are not required to do the termination hypothetical (although I hope you will) but you ARE REQUIRED TO DO THE SAMPLE ESSAY QUESTION and hand it in at class on Monday April 3.

UPDATE AS OF MARCH 13: WELCOME BACK!! I HOPE YOU ALL HAD AN ENJOYABLE AND RELAXING SPRING BREAK!!! Model Answers to Duration Hypotheticals have been posted. I will hand your written work back to you in class this evening.

UPDATE AS OF MARCH 11: Updated Reading List through March 22 has been posted.

UPDATE AS OF FEBRUARY 25: Follow this link to DURATION HYPOTHETICALS handed out in class. Your written answers are due in class on Monday March 1.

UPDATE AS OF FEBRUARY 19: Updated Reading List through March 15 has been posted. Also, Answer to Copyright Hypothetical on Joint Works has been posted.

UPDATE AS OF FEBRUARY 11: New COPYRIGHT HYPOTHETICAL on Joint Works has been posted!

UPDATE AS OF FEBRUARY 7: SEE UPDATED READING LIST (updated through Week Six). Citations have been added, where necessary, through Week Five.

UPDATE AS OF FEBRUARY 4: SEE UPDATED COPYRIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS PAGE!

UPDATE AS OF JANUARY 26: SEE ANNOUNCEMENTS PAGE re: SNOW DAY ON JANUARY 26. READING LIST has been updated accordingly.

UPDATE AS OF JANUARY 23: A NEW COPYRIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS PAGE IS AVAILABLE!

UPDATE AS OF JANUARY 18: Reading assignments for the classes to be held on January 10, 12, 19, 24, 26, 31, Feb. 2 and Feb. 7 can be found on Reading List: Weeks One - Five

More information about the class, including information on exams and grading may be found in the Course Outline

Many helpful resources on copyright law are available on the Internet. To get you started, here are a few links. You may wish to bookmark these. I hope that you will all surf the Web and find many more helpful resources on your own. If you find a site which you believe will be of particular assistance to your fellow students, you are encouraged to post it on the class listserv, which will be set up during the first week of class.

To mull over: "No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money." Samuel Johnson, as quoted in III Boswell's Life of Johnson 19 (Hill ed. 1934).

Do you agree? Think about whether the primary purpose of law is to benefit an author (by encouraging creation of works) or to benefit the general public by making creative works available. Do these interests conflict? What kinds of rewards, if any, are necessary to spur the creation of works of authorship?