| The Unfenced Swimming Pool 18.11 The Garcia family built a large swimming pool in their backyard. The pool was two feet deep in the shallow end and nine feet deep near the diving board. They placed lights around the pool that turned on automatically at dusk. They also placed four large Danger � Deep Water,� signs around all sides pf the pool. One day a four-year old who lived a block away wandered onto their property, entered the pool, and drowned. The child�s parents sued the Garcia family for not fencing the pool. a. How should this case decided? b. Suppose the Garcias had fenced in the pool and the child had climbed the fence and drowned, Should the child�s parents be able to recover damagers in that situation? The Burglar Who Was Bitten 18.12 The Kims own a small store in a crime-ridden section of town. To protect their family and store, they purchase a guard dog. The dog is trained to attack on command. The dog also stays in the store from 11:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M., while the store is closed. One night, a person breaks into the store and is attacked by the dog. The police catch the person, and he convicted of burglary. After the judge gives him a suspended sentence, the burglar sues the Kims dog for the injuries caused by the guard dog. Hoe would you decide this case? Give your reasons. Today�s Menu 18.13 Many computer programs have similar menus. Menus usually consist of words such as �file,� �edit,� etc., which can be pulled down to reveal further choices. Menus allow users to tell a computer program what to do. When Borland International Inc. produced its Quattro Pro computer spreadsheet program, it included the exact same menu structure as older Lotus 1-2-3 program. Lotus Development Corp. sued Borland for copyright infringement. Borland argued that the menu structure was not protected by copyright because it did not have even a slight amount of originality and that it was not even �expression.� Lotus argued that the menu structure was creative expression because different terms could have been chosen (for example, �quit� could have been used instead of �exit� and �clone�, �duplicate�, or �reproduce� could have been used instead of copy�). Instead Lotus made a creative choice to use the terms it did and to arrange the menu in manner it did. a. Are there any benefits to deciding that a computer menu structure is not original expression that may be protected by copyright? Would you want to have to learn a different menu system for every program you use? b. How should the case of Lotus Development Corp. v. Borland International be decided? Give your reasons. c. Decide whether each of the following should be protected by copyright as creative expression: � The arrangement of phone numbers in the �yellow pages� of the phone book; � The collection of numbers in an electronic database; � The form given by doctors to patients to fill out insurance information; � The arrangement of letters on a keyboard; � The instructions label on a childproof lighter; � The definitions in a dictionary. �Pretty Woman� 18.14 2live Crew�s recording of �Pretty Woman� used the same melody and guitar riffs as the Roy Orbison song �Oh pretty Woman:, but the lyrics were meant to be a humorous parody. 2live Crew did not have Orbison�s permission to do a parody of �Pretty Woman�, Orbison�s tune was a hit in 1964. Orbison, holder of the copyright to �Oh, Pretty Woman,� sued 2live Crew for infringement. The band claimed that the fair use doctrine protected their use of the material. A federal statue requires that judges consider four factors when analyzing a fair use defense. � Whether the allegedly infringing work was done for commercial purposes (to make money). � The nature of the copyrighted work � whether it was truly creative or more factual. � Whether the whole copyrighted work was copied or only a part, and how important the copied section was to the original. � Whether the allegedly infringing work would hurt the finical success of the original or compete with the copyrighted work. a. Consider each of the fair use factors listed above. Does each factor suggest an infringement of Orbison�s copyright by 2live Crew� b. How should this case be decided? Give your reasons. |