Intellectual Property Law

Chapter 10 Discussion Questions

1. Indicate whether the following are likely copyrightable or not copyrightable. If
they are not copyrightable, indicate why not.

• The name of a restaurant

• A Ph.D dissertation

• A celebratory dance performed by a football player who makes a
touchdown

• The name Spider Man

• The character Spider Man

• A salsa dance

• The case Brown v. Board of Education

• A law review article analyzing Brown v. Board of Education

2. A movie studio would like to make a film based on the 1846 Edgar Allan Poe
(1809–1849) short story “The Cask of Amontillado.” Discuss whether permission
must be obtained for the movie version.

3. Is a truck copyrightable? Discuss. Is a painting on a sign attached to the truck
copyrightable? Discuss.

4. You have been thinking of developing a television show about a group of
scientists and mathematicians who are friends and who are socially awkward yet
endearing. Is this protected by copyright? Discuss.

5. Indicate whether the following are compilations, collective works, or derivative
works.

• The March 2016 issue of Intellectual Law Quarterly, containing eight
articles on copyright law

• A list of the best music videos of 2015

• A sculpture based on a drawing

• The English translation of the French novel Suite Francaise

• A new version of the doll Malibu Barbie

• A directory entitled Best Restaurants in Chicago

• A book of photos taken by various photographers during the Pope’s 2015
visit to the United States

6. A literary critic has written a substantive new foreword to the famous novel To
Kill a Mockingbird. Discuss the copyrights in both works and the effect of the
foreword on the original novel.