Law 525: Fundamentals of Intellectual Property Law Assignment No. 2 (Copyright)

Jay Lenovo works for Cable Jokes Network ("CJN"), which produces a latenight talk show hosted by Timmy Gallon. Jay's job involves developing "punny" jokes for Timmy's opening monologue on the show. During a conversation at the water cooler during business hours in March 1990, Timmy asks Jay to tell him some jokes that he could use for an upcoming monologue. Jay thinks for a second and tells him this "horse joke": "Why couldn't the pony sing a lullaby? She was a little horse." The two roll on the floor in laughter, and then Timmy says: "Jay, that's hilarious! But stop 'horsing' around. I heard that one before; Stephen Coolbear told it last night on his show. Tell me a new one." Jay then writes down on a piece of paper the following "bike joke"which has never been told beforeand hands the paper to Timmy who reads it out loud: "Why did the bike fall over? It was two tired." "Oh my gosh, that's funny . . . I think I need a Cyclologist," Timmy says. Jay then crumples up the piece of paper and destroys it by setting it ablaze. Jay then says, "Wait, wait, I got another one." "Why couldn't the pirate learn the alphabet? Because he was always lost at C."

"Jay, you sure have me hooked on these jokes," Timmy says. In September 1990, CJN compiles all the jokesexcept the bike jokeJay conveyed into a book called "The Best Punny Jokes Ever Told at the Water Cooler" and arranges the jokes so the funniest jokes are at the beginning and end of the book. CJN also includes a picture illustrating each joke. CJN immediately registers a copyright in the book and offers the book on Amazing.com where a million copies are sold without any sort of copyright notice, such as the .

One of those copies is sold to Joe Pun, who knows nothing about copyright law. He sells the copy of the book he purchased on Amazing.com to Cynthia. But before doing so, he makes 20 copies of the book and distributes those 20 copies on Amazing.com for free.

Upon selling the millionth copy in December 1990, CJN transfers the copyright in the book through a valid assignment to Conan O'Malley, who continues to sell the book on Amazing.com for the next 30 years (i.e., until January 2020). Two million more copies are sold. In January 2020, CJN files a notice with the Copyright Office seeking immediate termination of the copyright assignment to O'Malley. CJN also simultaneously serves that notice on O'Malley.

Unbeknownst to Jay and Timmy, one of their colleagues, David Mailman, used his i-Phone to record Jay and Timmy's conversation at the water cooler. But because David was hiding behind the water cooler, he did not get any video or images of the conversation, just the sound. David edits the recording and then sells it to Fifty Mile Zone ("FMZ"). FMZ then sells 100,000 copies of the recording on Amazing.com.

After a while, no one is laughing anymore and lawsuits are filed in the United States District Court for the District of USCwhich has held that jokes may be copyrighted under the Copyright Act if the requirements for copyright are met. The cases have been assigned to Judge Copyleft for adjudication, and you serve as her law clerk.

To assist her in figuring out how to rule in the cases, Judge Copyleft asks for your concise thoughts on: (COMBINE ANSWERING QUESTIONS 1-9 ONLY...500...WORDS..)

1. whether the horse joke meets the three requirements of copyright and why (5 points);

2. whether the bike joke meets the three requirements of copyright and why (5 points);

3. assuming the bike joke meets the three requirements of copyright, who owns the copyright and why (10 points);

4. how the recording David Mailman made should be categorized for purposes of the Copyright Act, and whether FMZ has infringed anyone's copyright by selling 100,000 copies of the recording on Amazing.com and why (10 points);

5. whether CJN effectively terminated the copyright assignment to Conan O'Malley and why (10 points);

6. whether CJN's registration of the copyright in the book and its failure to use the affects its ability to sue Joe Pun for copyright infringement and recover statutory damages from him, and why (10 points);

7. whether Joe Pun's sale to Cynthia of "The Best Punny Jokes Ever Told at the Water Cooler" that Joe Pun purchased on Amazing.com constitutes copyright infringement and why (5 points);

8. whether Joe Pun's giving away of 20 copies of the book on Amazing.com constitutes copyright infringement, including whether the doctrine of fair use would apply, and why (5 points);

9. whether Joe Pun could successfully assert an "innocent infringer" defense and why (10 points).

Your response must not exceed...500...Words, and your answers should correspond with the numbers above. Your answers should be direct and concise while sufficiently detailed to explain your reasoning and the rationale for any copyright law principles you rely on. In answering the questions, be sure to analyze any facts in the fact pattern above that are relevant or potentially relevant to the questions posed.

However, you may consult any written sources you like, including Examples & Explanations and the Copyright Office's Compendium of U.S. Copyright Practices1 and its Circulars.2

Good luck, Copyright Scholars! 1 https://www.copyright.gov/comp3/docs/compendium.pdf 2 https://www.copyright.gov/circs/