The Quest for a Sound Conception of Copyright’s Derivative Work Right

The
Quest for a Sound Conception of Copyright’s Derivative Work Right

By Professor
Pamela Samuelson 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at 12:00 Noon.

The
Copyright Act of 1976 confers on authors an exclusive right to prepare
derivative works. It defines this term
as “a work based upon one or more preexisting works,” giving nine examples to
illustrate the concept and ending with “or any other form in which a work may
be recast, transformed, or adapted.” This right has been highly problematic in
some cases construing the last clause.

Professor
Samuelson will discuss legislative history, statutory provisions, policies and
doctrines of copyright law in support of her conclusion that the derivative
work should be infringed under the last clause of the definition only if the
plaintiff’s claim involves one of the exemplary derivatives or close
analogues. She will also discuss a
handful of derivative use cases that have given overbroad interpretations to
the derivative work right and explain why these decisions are unsound.

Brochure