List of leading legal cases in copyright law

The following is a list of cases that deal with issues of concern to copyright in various jurisdictions. Some of these cases are leading English cases as the law of copyright in various Commonwealth jurisdictions developed out of English law while these countries were colonies of the British Empire. Other cases provide background in areas of copyright law that may be of interest for the legal reasoning or the conclusions they reach.

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Contents: Top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

• Advent Sys. Ltd. v. Unisys Corp (1991) held that the sale of software is the sale of a good within the meaning of Uniform Commercial Code.
• Applied Info. Mgmt., Inc, v. Icart (1997) held that the sale of software is the sale of a good.
• Apple v. Franklin (1983) 714 F.2d 1240 held computer software is protected by copyright (US)
• Autodesk v. Dyason (No.2) (1993) 176 CLR 300 (the idea-expression divide is the "dominant principle in copyright law" per Mason CJ: "when the expression of any idea is inseparable from its function, it forms part of the idea and is not entitled to the protection of copyright" per Dawson J)

B

• Bauer & Cie. v. O'Donnell (1913) US Supreme Court- Differences between patent and copyright defined also prohibits license to extend holders rights beyond statute.
• BMG Canada Inc. and others v. Doe and others 2005 FCA 193 (privacy rights of filesharers (Canada))
• Bobbs-Merrill Co v. Straus (1908) US Supreme Court- No license to use copyrighted material. License cannot extend holders rights beyond statute defined by Congress.
• Bridgeman Art Library Ltd. v. Corel Corporation, 36 F. Supp. 2d 191 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) photograph of public domain work is not original([1] (http://www.constitution.org/1ll/court/fed/bridgman.html))
• Burrow-Giles Lithographic Co. v. Sarony - (1884), 111 U.S. 53 US Supreme Court extend copyright protection to photography

C

• Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, 510 U.S. 569 (1994) (commercial parody is fair use)
• Carter v. Helmsley-Spear Inc. 861 F. Supp. 303 (S.D.N.Y., 1994), [interpreting moral rights provisions of U.S. Visual Artists Rights Act, overturned for other reasons, 71 F.3d 77 (2d Cir. 1995), cert. denied 116 S. Ct. 1824 (1996) (USA)]
• CBS Records v. Gross (1989) 15 IPR 385 (a cover version of a song can be an original work itself capable of copyright protection (Aus.))
• CCH Canada Ltd v. Law Society of Canada 2004 SCC 13 (established that setting up the facilities that allow copying does not amount to authorizing infringement (Canada))
• Computer Edge Pty Ltd v. Apple Computer Inc (1986) 161 CLR 171 (test in Exxon for literary work is "not intended to establish a comprehensive or exhasutive definition of literary work for copyright purposes" per Mason and Wilson JJ (Aus.))
• Corelli v. Grey (1913) 29 TLR 570 (four reasons for clear objective similarity between works)
• Cuisenaire v. Reed [1963] VR 719 (a literary work cannot be infringed by a three-dimensional reproduction (Aus.))

D

• Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. (2002) (proper citation needed here and in article) (attempt to use trademark to keep rights to a public domain work failed.)
• Dick v. Yates (1881) 18 Ch D 76 (a title is not long enough to consistute a literary work (U.K.)
• Re Dickens (1934) 1 Ch 267 (U.K.)
• Donahue v. Allied Newspapers Ltd (1938) Ch 106 [ "idea-expression divide" (U.K.)]
• Donaldson v. Beckett (1774) 4 Burr 2408; 98 ER 257 (copyright is not perpetual (UK))
• Downriver Internists v. Harris Corp (1991) held that the sale of software is the sale of a good within the meaning of Uniform Commercial Code.

E

• Elanco v. Mandops (1979) FSR 46 (instructions on herbicide are a literary device (Aus.))
• Eldred v. Ashcroft - (2003) 537 U.S. 186 US Supreme Court held Congress may extend duration of copyright as long as it is limited
• Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc. (1999) (US) 11th Cir. Ct of Appeals (giving public speech is not public domain publication under 1909 Act)
• Express Newspapers v. News (UK) Ltd (1990) 18 IPR 201 (confirming Walter v. Lane (UK))
• Exxon Corp v. Exxon Insurance Consultants International (1981) 3 All ER 241 [Exxon name has no © (U.K.)]

F

• Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service 111 S Ct 1282 (1991) (list of telephone numbers & addresses not protected (U.S.))

G

• Grand Upright Music Ltd v. Warner Bros Records 780 F. Supp. 182 and 91 Civ 7648 SDNY (1991) (music sampling is copyright infringement (US))
• Green v. Broadcasting Corp of NZ (1989) APIC 90-590 (Privy Council definition of "dramatic works": " a dramatic work must have sufficient unity to be capable of performance" (NZ))
• Greenfield Products Pty Ltd v. Rover-Scott Bonnar Ltd (1990) 17 IPR 417 per Pincus J, what is not a sculpture (Aus))
• MGM v. Grokster - 2004 U.S. 9th Circuit permitted peer-to-peer file-sharing software. Before US Supreme Court 2005.

H

• Hawkes &Son (London) Ltd v. Paramount Film Service Ltd [1934] 1 Ch 593 (the Colonel Bogey case - infringement of copyright occurs when "a substantial, a vital and an essential part" of a work is copied, per Lord Slesser (UK))

I

• Itar-Tass Russian News Agency v. Russian Kurier, Inc., 153 F.3d 82 (2d Cir. 1998) Jurisdiction with closest association to putative owner applies to determine copyright ownership.

J

• Jockey Club v. Standen (1985) 8 C.P.R.(3d) 283, 288 (B.C.C.A.) [Judicial decisions have no © (Canada)]

K

• Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corporation, (1999) U.S. App. LEXIS 1786 (fair use, thumbnails & inline linking [U.S.]). Kelly won.
• Basic Books, Inc. v. Kinko's Graphics Corporation, 758 F. Supp. 1522 (S.D.N.Y. 1991), copies of articles for educational use → not fair use

L

• Ladbroke (Football) Ltd v. William Hill (Football) Ltd [1964]1 WLR 273
• LB (Plastics) Ltd v. Swish Products Ltd [1979] RPC 551 (the basis of copyright protection is that "one man must not be able to appropriate the result of another's labour")
• Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. (1992), 780 F. Supp. 1283 US 9th Circuit (consumers may modify purchased computer games for own use)

M

• MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc. (1993) RAM copies are considered copies governed by copyright.
• Millar v. Taylor (1769) 4 Burr 2303; 98 ER 201 (copyright is a form of property (UK))
• Macmillan Co. v. King, 223 F. 862 (D.Mass. 1914) limits of fair use in educational context

N

• New York Times Company v. Tasini, 533 U.S. 483 (2001), freelance journalists did not grant electronic republication rights for collective work.
• Novell, Inc. v. CPU Distrib., Inc. (2000) The first-sale doctrine applies to software.

O

P

• Pacific Film Laboratories v. Commissioner of Tax (1970) 121 CLR 154 [negative right definition (Australia)]

Q

R

S

• Sega Enterprises Ltd v. Galaxy Electronics Pty Ltd 35 IPR 161 (interactive video games involving computer images fall in the definition of cinematograph film (Aus.))
• Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada v. Canadian Association of Internet Providers 2004 SCC 45 (ISPs as common carriers. Status of caches (Canada))
• Softman v. Adobe (2001) The first-sale doctrine applies to software and can not be waived or taken away through an EULA.
• Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios (1984) Consumer uses of video recorder fair use mentions specifically time shifting and archival purposes.
• Step-Saver Data Systems, Inc. v. Wyse Technology (1991) the court concluded that subsequent changes to the Copyright Act had rendered the need to characterize the transaction as a license to use software "largely anachronistic.".
• Suntrust v. Houghton Mifflin (11th Cir. 2001) (parody is fair use)
• Self-Realization Fellowship Church v. Ananda Church (2000) (9th Cir. Appeals 97-17407) at Wikisource (http://sources.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiography_of_a_Yogi/Copyright) Renewal rights were not assignable.

T

• Théberge v. Galerie d'Art du Petit Champlain Inc. [2002] 2 S.C.R. 336 Canadian definition of "reproduction".

U

• Universal v. Reimerdes (2001) US 2nd Circuit (upheld constitutionality of Digital Millennium Copyright Act)

V

W

• Walter v. Lane (1900) AC 539 ("reporter's copyright" (U.K.))
• Wheaton v. Peters 33 U.S. (8 Pet.) 591 (1834) (there is no such thing as common law copyright and one must observe the formalities to secure a copyright)

X

Y

• Yumbulul v. Reserve Bank of Australia (1991) 21 IPR 481 ("copyright law does not provide adequate protection of Aboriginal community claims to regulate the reproduction and use of works which are essentially communal in origin" (Aus.))

Z

• Zeccola v. Universal City Studios Inc. (1982) 46 ALR 189 (there is no copyright in the idea of a theme or a story, but there may be a time where a combination of events and characters reaches sufficient complexity as to give rise to dramatic work copyright (Aus.))

Note: As this is a list of leading legal cases, improving it means that you should add other leading legal cases in the copyright area if you cannot do a case summary. Only add a case name if you have a valid citation to that case (so someone else can read the case if they are not familar with it).