Deck 10: The Subject Matter of Copyright

Question 1

The Copyright Act identifies eight categories of works that are protected by copyright. Identify three.

Answer 1

The eight categories are as follows: literary works; musical works; dramatic works; pantomimes and choreographic works; pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; motion pictures and other AV works; sound recordings; architectural works

Question 2

To be protected, a structure must be permanent and intended for human occupancy.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A vile and racist novel is protectable under copyright law.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

What is the "idea-expression dichotomy"?

Question 5

Carl gives a lecture about classic cars. Is the lecture protected by copyright law? Discuss.

Question 6

A water faucet is topped with a small metal sculpture of a swan. Discuss the copyrightability of these items.

Question 7

Only the author of copyright in a work has the right to prepare or authorize others to prepare derivative works.

Question 8

Once the copyright for Hemingway's novel The Old Man and the Sea enters the public domain, anyone may make a movie based on it.

Question 9

Computer programs are protected under copyright law as literary works.

Question 10

A work must have literary or artistic merit to be protected under copyright law.

Question 11

If a book written in 2000 is revised in 2010, the copyright for the book will be extended by ten years.

Question 12

Once a book or novel is sold to you, you may make a film based on it.

Question 13

How would one go about obtaining copyright protection for a ballet?

Question 14

Identify the three basic requirements for copyrightability.

Question 15

Copyright law does not protect useful articles.

Question 16

Briefly distinguish between a musical work and a sound recording and identify the author for each.

Question 17

The eight categories of "authorship" identified in the Copyright Act are exclusive; no other works can or could qualify for protection.

Question 18

The standard of creativity required for copyright protection to arise is very stringent.

Question 19

Identify which of the following is protected by copyright law:

Question 20

Paul and Pam happen to compose the same poem, although they did not work together, and Paul completed the poem before Pam did. Discuss who owns the copyright in the work.

Question 21

Andrew has received permission from 10 separate authors to reprint their essays in his book called Reflections by Scholars on America's Education System . The resulting book is copyrightable as a  ___ work.

Question 22

Eva is an excellent baker and has several recipes for her cookies and pies. Under what circumstances would these be copyrightable?

Question 23

A ______ work is one based on another, such as the film Wild based on the book of the same name.

Question 24

A doctor has prepared index cards listing the four signs of a stroke. Is this work copyrightable? Discuss and identify the name of any principle that governs your answer.

Question 25

Andrew has received permission from Steven to add a new foreword to Steven's book entitled Poverty in America . Andrew's foreword is copyrightable as a ______ work.

Question 26

Discuss whether the character Wolverine from the movies and comics of the same name is copyrightable.

Question 27

What two categories of works are in the public domain and may be used by anyone?

Question 28

Stephen's 500-page book, originally published in 2010, was   reprinted in 2016. The 2016 version added a new six-word sentence. Is this a derivative work? Discuss.

Question 29

Andrew has assembled various weather statistics in his book Tornado Patterns in America . Is this work copyrightable? Discuss.

Question 30

Stephen's 2016 book adds six maps to his earlier 2010 book. Is this a derivative work? Discuss.

Question 31

A "stock" character such as a highly critical mother-in-law is not copyrightable. Such non-copyrightable standard characters and literary devices are called ______.