Copyright law affects almost every aspect of our lives, from the movies we watch, to the books we read, the music we listen to, and the houses we live in. The law of copyright extends a limited term of protection to artistic, musical, literary, dramatic and other works under the federal Copyright Act. This course provides a brief introduction to the field of intellectual property and Copyrights relationship to other specific forms of intellectual property governance, examining the requirements for copyright protection, the kind of works that qualify for protection, the scope and limits of the rights, and the distinction between authorship and ownership of a work. The extent and nature of protection including moral rights and neighbouring rights will also be examined as will be the historical and contemporary importance of the traditional forms of the protected works in the context of changing technology such as computers and internet technology. Specific topics for exploration include the nature of the owners right, the expression/idea dichotomy, the freedom of users to deal fairly with copyrighted works, and the public interest in the public domain and commons. Copyright theory will be tested against its application with some attention being given to international aspects of protection, and current efforts in public policy and law reform. 3
