Opinion ID: 657247
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Scenes A Faire

Text: 51 Under the scenes a faire doctrine, we deny protection to those expressions that are standard, stock, or common to a particular topic or that necessarily follow from a common theme or setting. Autoskill, 994 F.2d at 1494 (citing 3 Nimmer Sec. 13.03[B], at 13-70); Atari, 672 F.2d at 616. Granting copyright protection to the necessary incidents of an idea would effectively afford a monopoly to the first programmer to express those ideas. Whelan, 797 F.2d at 1236-37; Landsberg v. Scrabble Crossword Game Players, Inc., 736 F.2d 485, 489 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1037, 105 S.Ct. 513, 83 L.Ed.2d 403 (1984). Furthermore, where a particular expression is common to the treatment of a particular idea, process, or discovery, it is lacking in the originality that is the sine qua non for copyright protection. Feist, 499 U.S. at 348, 111 S.Ct. at 1289. 52 The scenes a faire doctrine also excludes from protection those elements of a program that have been dictated by external factors. See Plains Cotton Co-op Ass'n. v. Goodpasture Computer Serv., Inc., 807 F.2d 1256, 1262 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 821, 108 S.Ct. 80, 98 L.Ed.2d 42 (1987); Apple Computer, 799 F.Supp. at 1022-26. In the area of computer programs these external factors may include: hardware standards and mechanical specifications, see Manufacturer's Technologies, Inc. v. Cams, Inc., 706 F.Supp. 984, 995 (D.Conn.1989), software standards and compatibility requirements, 14 Sega Enterprises Ltd. v. Accolade, Inc., 977 F.2d 1510, 1525-27 (9th Cir.1993), computer manufacturer design standards, target industry practices and demands, see Plains Cotton, 807 F.2d at 1262, and computer industry programming practices, see Apple Computer, 799 F.Supp. at 1033. 3 Nimmer Sec. 13.03[F][a]-[e], at 13-102.21 to 13-102.28.