Intellectual Property Law

Chapter 12 Discussion Questions

1. Janna and her sister Chelsea have been working together on a children’s book.
Janna, who lives in Miami, has written the words, and Chelsea, who lives in
Seattle, has drawn the illustrations (which constitute about 20 percent of the
book). The sisters have no written agreement regarding this work.

a. Can the two sisters be joint authors even if they are not working in the
same place? Discuss.

b. Would your answer be different if Janna wrote the text in 2012 and
Chelsea added the illustrations in 2016? Discuss.

c. Would your answer to (a) be different if Chelsea merely told Janna what
types of illustrations to include and Janna actually drew the illustrations
based on Chelsea’s comments? Discuss.

d. Assume the book was published and earned $40,000 last year. How will
this money be divided? Why?

e. Can Janna read from the book on Jimmy Kimmel Live, without obtaining
permission from Chelsea? Discuss.

f. How long will copyright in the work last?

2. Ford Motor Co. hired Adam Davis, a talented musician, to compose a new ad
jingle for the company. Adam was told only that the jingle should be upbeat and
should be no more than 30 seconds in length. Ford paid Adam a one-time
payment of $30,000 (and did not deduct any taxes from the payment). The parties
have no written agreement regarding the work.

a. Who owns the copyright in the work? Why?

b. Would your answer be different if Ford asked Carrie Ellis, who has
worked for four years in Ford’s marketing department, to compose the
jingle? Discuss.

c. Give the copyright term for any work by Adam and Carrie.

3. In 1980, when Michael was 30, he sold his book and all copyright rights in the
book to Ted (by written agreement).

a. Can Michael recover his rights to the book? Discuss.

b. Would your answer to (a) change if Michael authored the book while
employed by Ted? Discuss.

c. Assume Michael died in 2005, leaving a wife and two adult children. May
they recover Michael’s rights? Discuss.

d. Assume that Ted prepared a sequel to the book. May Michael recover the
rights to this work? Discuss.

4. Calculate the duration of copyright for the following:

a. A song composed by Emily in 2009

b. A song composed by Emily and Wyatt in 2009

c. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel This Side of Paradise, published in 1920

d. An employee handbook prepared by Christy, an employee of IBM