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CS4984
Introduction to Computer Law
Fall 2003

Syllabus

Classes are scheduled for the following dates, each meeting at 8:20 AM until 10:00 AM:

Class 1: August 25, 2003 - Slides from class 1
Class 2: September 8, 2003 - Slides from class 2
Class 3: September 22, 2003 - Slides from class 3
Class 4: October 6, 2003 - Slides from class 4
Class 5: ~~October 20, 2003~~ CHANGED to October 13, 2003
Class 6: November 3, 2003 - Slides from class 6
Class 7: November 17, 2003 - Slides from Class 7
Class 8: December 1, 2003 (might be moved to December 8, 2003)

Select a class to see the materials you need to review in preparation for that class.

Class 1 (Introduction): August 25, 2003 - No preparation required

ASSIGNMENT 1: Instructions

And here are the cases for assignment 1:

(For those of you freaking out reading this before the first class, each student is only assigned ONE case)

1.    Feist Publications Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co. Inc., 499 U.S. 338 (1991).
2.    Apple Computer, Inc. v. Franklin Computer Corp., 714 F.2d 1240 ( 3rd Cir. 1983).
3.    Lotus Development Corp. v. Borland Int’l Inc., 49 F.3d 807 (1st Cir. 1995)
4.    NEC Corp. v. Intel Corp., 10 USPQ2d 1177 (N.D. Cal. 1989).
5.    Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc., 964 F.2d 965 (9th Cir. 1992).
6.    Group One Ltd. v. Hallmark Cards Inc., 254 F.3d 1041 (Fed. Cir. 2001).
7.    Tate Access Floors Inc. v. Interface Architectural Resources Inc., 279 F.3d 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2002).
8.    Vitronics Corp. v. Conceptronic Inc., 90 F.3d 1576 (Fed. Cir. 1996).
9.    Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., 122 S. Ct. 1831 (2002).
10.    In re Alappat, 33 F.3d 1526, (Fed. Cir. 1994).
11.    Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 175 (1981).
12.    AT&T v. Excel, 172 F.3d 1352 (Fed. Cir. 1999).
13.    State Street Bank v. Signature Financial Group, 149 F.3d 1368 (Fed. Cir. 1998).
14.    Amazon.com Inc. v. Barnesandnoble.com Inc., 239 F.3d 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2001).
15.    In re Buchner, 929 F.2d 660 (Fed. Cir. 1991).
16.    Cooper Cameron Corp. v Kvaerner Oilfield, 291 F.3d 1317 (Fed. Cir. 2002).
17.    Northern Telecom v. Datapoint, 908 F.2d 931 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
18.    In re Epstein, 32 F.3d 1559 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
19.    In re Hall, 781 F.2d 897, 900 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
20.    Egbert v. Lippmann, 104 U.S. 333, 25 Law. Ed. 755(1881).
21.    Netscape Communications Corp. v. Konrad, 295 F.3d 1315 (Fed. Cir. 2002).
22.    Lockwood v. Am. Airlines, Inc., 107 F.3d 1565 (Fed. Cir. 1997).
23.    The Beachcombers, Int’l Inc. v. WildeWood Creative Products Inc., 31 F.3d 1154 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
24.    In re Mann, 861 F.2d 1581 (Fed. Cir. 1988).
25.    Pfaff v. Wells Elecs.,525 U.S. 55 (1999).
26.    Buildex Inc. v. Kason Industries Inc., 849 F.2d 1461 (Fed. Cir. 1988).
27.    3M Co. v. Chemque Inc., 303 F.3d 1294 (Fed. Cir. 2002).
28.    Tec Air Inc. v. Denso Mfg Michigan Inc., 192 F.3d 1353 (Fed. Cir. 1999).
29.    Linear Tech. Corp. v. Micrel Inc., 275 F.3d 1294 (Fed. Cir. 2001).
30.    New Railhead Mfg LLC v. Vermeer Mfg Co., 298 F.3d 1290 (Fed. Cir. 2002).

ASSIGNMENT 2 is to be on-deck for one or more cases during one or more classes.

Class 2 (Copyrights): September 8, 2003

Everyone: read Circular No. 1 (Copyright Basics) and Circular No. 61 (Copyright Registration of Computer Programs). Circular 65 (Registrability of Automated Databases) is optional reading for your reference.
In addition, the following cases will be discussed (i.e., you might want to review or skim them):

Yes, I realize that given the option, you won't look at these cases. But remember, there are bonus points for class participation (oooh, bonus points for a 1-hour class!...)

On-Deck: If you are "on deck" for any of these cases, you MUST read and analyze your case, prepare a case brief, and be ready to answer questions in class regarding your case. You also must email me your case brief by the end of the day for which your case is scheduled.

Class 3 (Patents): September 22, 2003

Everyone: read Inventor Guidelines for Preserving Patent Rights, Protecting Display IP by C. Miller, and pp. 217-231 of the text.
In addition, the following cases will be discussed (i.e., you might want to review or skim them):

On-Deck: If you are "on deck" for any of these cases, you MUST read and analyze your case, prepare a case brief, and be ready to answer questions in class regarding your case. You also must email me your case brief by the end of the day for which your case is scheduled.

Class 4 (Trademarks/Trade Secrets): October 6, 2003

Everyone: read pp. 342-346 of the text and "All Quiet On The Reverse Engineering Front" by S. Chang et al.

Class 5 (Internet Issues): October 13, 2003

Everyone: In addition to the on-deck assignment, everyone please skim the cases below to be familiar with the issues. Class discuss will center heavily on these cases.

Cases:

Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corp., 280 F.3d 934 (9th Cir. 2002)
Eli Lilly & Co. v. Natural Answers, Inc., 233 F.3d 456 (7th Cir. 2000)
Shields v. Zuccarini, 254 F.3d 476 (3d Cir. 2001)
~~eBay, Inc. v. Bidder’s Edge, Inc., No. C-99-21200 (N.D. Cal. 1999)~~ Canceled
Jerri-Jo Knitwear v. Club Italia, 94 F.Supp.2d 457 (S.D.N.Y. 2000)
Foresight Corp. v. Servos, No. AF-0473 (eResolution Dec. 15, 2000)
Cybersell, Inc. v. Cybersell, Inc., 130 F.3d 414 (9th Cir. 1997)
Panavision Int’l v. Toeppen, 141 F.3d 1316 (9th Cir. 1998)

Class 6 (Internet Issues II): November 3, 2003

See Class 5.

Class 7 (Computer Crime/Open Source): November 17, 2003

Read the following materials:
Linux Users Risk Infringement, by Bradley Wright
Oil and Water, or Vinaigiette? The Legal Flipside to Open Source Software in the Commercial World, by Brian Kelly
Article: O-STEP Seeks to Step Up Open Source Transition, March 11, 2003

In addition, everyone should read the following cases:

Case briefs are not required, but I reserve the right to question anyone regarding either case in class.

CS4984 Introduction to Computer Law Fall 2003