List of copyright case law
United States
Note: if no court name is given, according to convention, the case is from the Supreme Court of the United States.

List of copyright case law

Section Title: United States
Table Section Text: Note: if no court name is given, according to convention, the case is from the Supreme Court of the United States.

Case name	Reporter	Court/Year	Findings

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.

Folsom v. Marsh	9. F.Cas. 342 (C.C.D. Mass. 1841)	1841	Fair use.

Baker v. Selden	101 U.S. 99	1879	Idea-expression divide.

Burrow-Giles Lithographic Co. v. Sarony	111 U.S. 53	1884	Extended copyright protection to photography.

White-Smith Music Publishing Company v. Apollo Company	209 U.S. 1	1908	Reproduction of the sounds of musical instruments playing music for which copyright granted not a violation of the copyright.

Bobbs-Merrill Co v. Straus	210 U.S. 339	1908	No license to use copyrighted material. License cannot extend holder's rights beyond statute defined by Congress.

Bauer & Cie. v. O'Donnell	229 U.S. 1	1913	Differences between patent and copyright defined also prohibits a license from extending holder's rights beyond statute.

Macmillan Co. v. King	223 F. 862	D.Mass. 1914	Limits of fair use with respect to an educational context and to summaries.

Nutt v. National Institute Inc.	31 F.2d 236	2d Cir. 1929	It is not the subject that is protected by copyright. It is the treatment of a subject that is protected.

Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp.	45 F.2d 119	2d Cir. 1930	No copyright for "stock characters".

Cain v. Universal Pictures	47 F.Supp. 1013	S. Dist. Calif 1942	Scènes à faire

Shostakovich v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.	196 Misc. 67, 80 N.Y.S.2d 575 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1948), aff'd 275 A.D. 692, 87 N.Y.S.2d 430 (1949)	1948–9	No moral rights in public domain works.

Alfred Bell & Co. v. Catalda Fine Arts, Inc.	191 F.2d 99	2d. Cir. 1951	Variations of works in the public domain can be copyrighted if the new "author" contributed something more than a "merely trivial" variation, but no large measure of novelty is necessary.

National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications	191 F.2d 594 (1951), clarified 198 F.2d 927 (1952)	2d Cir. 1951–2	Derivative works; an author does not forfeit his copyright to a piece of intellectual property if his work is contracted to another who fails to properly copyright works which incorporate the original property (obsoleted by Copyright Act of 1976).

F. W. Woolworth Co. v. Contemporary Arts, Inc.	344 U.S. 228	1952	Provided wide latitude to judges when determining legal remedies based on the facts of the case.

Mazer v. Stein	347 U.S. 201	1954	Extended copyright protection to applied art.

Irving Berlin et al. v. E.C. Publications, Inc.	329 F. 2d 541	2d. Cir. 1964	Parody.

Fortnightly Corp. v. United Artists	392 U.S. 390	1968	Television broadcasters "perform" copyrighted works. Viewers do not perform.

Roth Greeting Cards v. United Card Co	429 F.2d 1106	9th Cir. 1970	Copyright may be infringed when total concept and feel is the same

Williams & Wilkins Co. v. United States	487 F.2d 1345	Ct. Cl. 1973	Libraries' photocopying for research was fair use.

Twentieth Century Music Corp. v. Aiken	422 U.S. 151	1975	Playing a radio broadcast of a copyrighted work at a business was not copyright infringement Radio reception does not constitute a "performance" of copyrighted material.

Reyher v. Children's Television Workshop	533 F.2d 87	2d Cir. 1976	The essence of infringement lies in taking not a general theme but its particular expression

Gilliam v. American Broadcasting	538 F.2d 14	2d Cir. 1976	Moral rights infringed by unauthorized editing of TV show

Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions Inc. v. McDonald's Corp.	562 F.2d 1157	9th Cir. 1977	Extrinsic and intrinsic tests may be used to determine substantial similarity

Wainwright Securities v. Wall Street Transcript Corp	558 F.2d 91	2d Cir. 1977	The essence or purpose of legitimate journalism is the reporting of objective facts or developments, not the appropriation of the form of expression used by the news source

Miller v. Universal City Studios, Inc.	650 F.2d 1365	5th Cir. 1981	A writer's research is not copyrightable.

Schnapper v. Foley	667 F.2d 102	D.C. Cir. 1981	Affirmed that copyright exists for works created by contractors for the US government.

Stern Electronics, Inc. v. Kaufman	669 F.2d 852	2d Cir. 1982	Copyright on computer programs includes images and sounds as well as the computer code.

See v. Durang	711 F.2d 141	9th Cir. 1983	Copying deleted or so disguised as to be unrecognizable is not copying

Apple Computer, Inc. v. Franklin Computer Corp.	714 F.2d 1240	3rd Cir. 1983	Computer software is protected by copyright (affirmed and obsoleted by subsequent legislation).

Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. (the "Betamax case")	464 U.S. 417	1984	Products with substantial non-infringing uses (video recorders) may be sold even if they can be used illicitly. Private, non-commercial recording of programs for time-shifting purposes is fair use.

Selle v. Gibb	741 F.2nd 896	7th Circ 1984	Where there is lack of evidence of access, access can be inferred only if striking similarities preclude independent creation

Dowling v. United States	473 U.S. 207	1985	Copyright infringement is not theft, conversion, or fraud; illegally made copies are not stolen goods.

Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises	471 U.S. 539	1985	The interest served by republication of a public figure's account of an event is not sufficient to permit nontransformative fair use.

Fisher v. Dees	794 F.2d 432	9th Cir. 1986	Parody of song performance is legitimate fair use

Whelan v. Jaslow	797 F.2d 1222	3rd Cir. 1986	Copyright protection of computer programs may extend beyond the programs' literal code to their structure, sequence and organization

Broderbund v. Unison	648 F. Supp. 1127, 1133	N.D. Cal. 1986	Copyright may extend to the look and feel of a computer program's display

Steinberg v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.	663 F. Supp. 706	S.D.N.Y. 1987	Derivative works.

Salinger v. Random House	811 F.2d 90	2d Cir. 1987	An author has a right to protect the expressive content of his unpublished writings for the term of his copyright, and that right prevails over a claim of fair use under "ordinary circumstances"

Anderson v. Stallone	11 USPQ2D 1161	C.D. Cal 1989	Derivative works.

Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid	490 U.S. 730	1989	Works for hire.

Wright v. Warner Books	953 F.2d 731	2d Cir. 1991	Sparing use of creative expression from unpublished letters and journals may constitute fair use

Basic Books, Inc. v. Kinko's Graphics Corporation	758 F. Supp. 1522	S.D.N.Y. 1991	Articles copied for educational use are not necessarily fair use.

Advent Sys. Ltd. v. Unisys Corp	925 F.2d 670, 675-76	3d Cir. 1991	The sale of software is the sale of a good within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code.

Downriver Internists v. Harris Corp	929 F.2d 1147, 1150	6th Cir. 1991	The sale of software is the sale of a good within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code.

Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service	499 U.S. 340	1991	Affirmed the need for a minimal amount of creativity before a work is copyrightable. "Sweat of the brow" alone is not sufficient to bestow copyright.

Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records, Inc.	780 F. Supp. 182	SDNY 1991	Music sampling is generally copyright infringement.

Step-Saver Data Systems, Inc. v. Wyse Technology	939 F.2d 91	3rd Cir. 1991	The need to characterize the transaction as a license to use software is "largely anachronistic.".

Computer Associates Int. Inc. v. Altai Inc.	982 F.2d 693	2d Cir. 1992	"Substantial similarity" is required for copyright infringement to occur. Established the Abstraction-Filtration-Comparison test, which lays out the steps to follow when extricating copyrightable expression from uncopyrightable elements of the same work.

Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.	780 F. Supp. 1283	9th Cir. 1992	Consumers may modify purchased computer games for their own use.

Rogers v. Koons	960 F.2d 301	2d Cir. 1992	Fair use and parody.

MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc.	991 F.2d 511	9th Cir. 1993	RAM ("working memory") copies of computer programs are governed by copyright.

Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.	35 F.3d 1435	9th Cir. 1994	Certain components of computer programs' graphical user interfaces are not copyrightable.

Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.	510 U.S. 569	1994	Commercial parody can be 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.

United States v. LaMacchia	871 F.Supp. 535	D. Mass 1994	Gave rise to LaMacchia Loophole where criminal charges of fraud or copyright infringement would be dismissed, so long as there was no profit motive involved.

Lotus v. Borland	49 F.3d 807	1st Cir. 1995	Software interfaces per se are "methods of operation" and are not covered by copyright.

Self-Realization Fellowship Church v. Ananda Church	59 F.3d 902, 910	9th Cir. 1995	Renewal rights are not assignable.

Religious Technology Center v. Netcom	907 F. Supp. 1361	N.D. Cal. 1995	Immunity of copyright liability for Internet Intermediaries.

Twin Books Corp. v. Walt Disney Co.	83 F.3d 1162, 38	9th Cir. 1996	Foreign works published before 1978 did not establish US copyright until published in the US or with US copyright formalities.

Applied Info. Mgmt., Inc, v. Icart	976 Supp. 149, 155	E.D.N.Y. 1997	The sale of software is the sale of a good. Case was dropped.

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.

The Yankee Candle Co. v. New England Candle Co.	14 F.Supp.2d 154	District Court of Massachusetts 1998	Internal structure does not qualify as "building" under 17 U.S.C. § 101.

Bridgeman Art Library Ltd. v. Corel Corporation	36 F. Supp. 2d 191	S.D.N.Y. 1999	"Slavish copying" is inherently uncreative and cannot confer copyright.

Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc.	194 F.3d 1211	11th Cir. 1999	Giving a public speech is not public-domain publication under the 1909 Copyright Act.

Microsystems Software, Inc. v. Scandinavia Online AB	District Court of Massachusetts 2000	Settled out of court; illustrated problems of reverse engineering and the need for clear copyright notices in IT code

Novell, Inc. v. CPU Distrib., Inc.	2000 US Dist. Lexis. 9975	SD Tex. 2000	The first-sale doctrine applies to software.

UMG v. MP3.com	2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5761	S.D.N.Y. 2000	Distribution of copyrighted music without permission of the copyright holders is infringement even if the downloader already owns a copy of the music.

A & M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.	239 F.3d 1004	9th Cir. 2001	Knowingly failing to take steps to prevent infringement, while benefiting from said infringement, is grounds for contributory infringement. Also, users of file-sharing services infringe by both uploading and downloading works without permission.

New York Times Company v. Tasini	533 U.S. 483	2001	Freelance journalists did not grant electronic republication rights for collective work.

SoftMan Products Co. v. Adobe Systems Inc.	CV 00-04161 DDP (AJWx)	C.D.C.A. 2001	The first-sale doctrine applies to software.

Suntrust v. Houghton Mifflin	252 F. 3d 1165	11th Cir. 2001	Parody and fair use.

Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Reimerdes	273 F.3d 429	2d Cir. 2001	Affirmed the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Veeck v. Southern Bldg. Code Cong. Int'l	241 F.3d 398, 416	5th Cir. 2001	A private organization cannot assert copyright protection for its model codes, after the models have been adopted by a legislative body and become the law.

Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corporation	336 F.3d 811	9th Cir. 2003	Thumbnails and inline linking can be fair use.

Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.	539 U.S. 23	2003	Trademark cannot preserve rights to a public domain work.

Eldred v. Ashcroft	537 U.S. 186	2003	Congress may retroactively extend the duration of works still under copyright, as long as the extension is limited.

CoStar v. LoopNet	373 F.3d 544	4th Cir. 2004	Internet service provider was found not liable for copyright infringement of photographs uploaded by subscribers, despite the screening process by an employee of the Internet service provider before the photographs were stored and displayed.

Arizona Cartridge Remanufacturers Association Inc. v. Lexmark International Inc.	03-16987 D.C. No. CV-01-04626SBA/JL OPINION	9th Cir. 2005	End User License Agreements on a physical box can be binding on consumers who signal their acceptance of the license agreement by opening the box.

Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films	410 F.3d 792	6th Cir. 2005	No de minimis exception for sampled music. "Get a license or do not sample.

MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.	545 U.S. 913	2005	Distributors of peer-to-peer file-sharing software can be liable for copyright infringement if there are "affirmative steps taken to foster infringement".

Perfect 10 v. Google Inc	416 F. Supp. 2d 828	C.D. Cal. 2006	Thumbnails in Web searches were fair use. Framed inline images of full size were not infringing copies.

Perfect 10 v. CCBill LLC	488 F.3d 1102	9th Cir. 2007	DMCA notification procedures place the burden of policing copyright infringement on the owners of the copyright. CDA Section 230 means only “federal intellectual property," and does not include state right of publicity claims.

Perfect 10 v. Visa	494 F.3d 788	9th Cir. 2007	A case about secondary copyright infringement

Kahle v. Gonzales	No. 04-17434	9th Cir. 2007	Congress did not alter the "traditional contours of copyright protection" by permitting automatic extension of copyrights.

Lenz v. Universal Music Corp.	572 F. Supp. 2d 1150	N.D. Cal. 2008	Rights holders must consider fair use before issuing a takedown notice. If the notice is issued in bad faith, the rights holder could be held liable for misrepresentation.

MDY Industries v. Blizzard Entertainment	629 F. 3d 928	9th Cir. 2010	Addressing whether certain unlicensed acts are copyright infringement or merely violations of contract.

Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick	559 U.S. 154	2010	Failure to register a copyright does not limit a Federal Court's jurisdiction over claims of infringement regarding unregistered works.

Ouellette v. Viacom International Inc.	CV 10–133–M–DWM–JCL; 2011 WL 1882780	D. Mont. 2011	The safe harbor provision of the DMCA does not provide a cause of action against service providers that take down videos.

Cambridge University Press v. Becker	1:2008cv01425	N.D. Ga. 2011	University's use of copyrighted material in e-reserves does not constitute direct or vicarious infringement.

Golan v. Holder	565 U.S. ___ (132 S. Ct. 873)	2012	Congress may retroactively restore copyright in works that have fallen into the public domain. The Constitution gives broad discretion to Congress to decide how best to promote the "progress of science and the useful arts"

Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.	133 S. Ct. 1351	2013	The first-sale doctrine applies to copies of copyrighted works lawfully made abroad.

Sentence(s)

Mazer v. Stein, 347 U.S. 201 (1954), was a copyright case decided by the United States Supreme Court.

final_sentence: Mazer v. Stein, 347 U.S. 201 (1954), was a copyright case decided by the United States Supreme Court.