Copyright, Culture, and Commerce

 

Spring 2016

Professor Siva Vaidhyanathan

Email sivav@virginia.edu

Office hours: Wednesdays 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and by appointment

Office: 209 Wilson Hall

 

Course Description

 

In this course, we will discuss one of the most powerful social, cultural, economic and political institutions of our day: intellectual property (IP). How did we arrive at the notion that creative works and ideas can be owned, bought and sold like tangible commodities? What impact does this concept have on the way we view the world? How does it help us achieve our social goals, and how does it present obstacles to reaching those goals? And, in the age of digitized information and networked communication, how can we understand the role of IP in light of the rapidly changing developments in the way culture is produced and consumed?

 

In our efforts to better understand these issues, we will read both primary and secondary materials, covering subjects ranging from the birth of copyright to the latest developments in the global “copyfight” over information in the digital age, view relevant and interesting documentary films, and enjoy guest lectures from a broad range of knowledgeable speakers.

 

 

 

Course Objectives:

 

A student who successfully completes this course will be able to critically discuss, describe, or demonstrate mastery of the following phenomenon: 

 

• The social and cultural roles that copyright plays in American and global culture.

 

• The role that copyright plays within the larger field of intellectual property.

 

• The purposes, powers, and limitations of copyright.

 

• The ethical dimensions of copyright infringement and copyright enforcement.

 

• The global political economy of copyright, and how it affects global flows of music, images, video, and software.

 

• The Free and Open Source software movements.

 

• The political battles over copyright.

 

All assignments will be geared to drive students toward achieving these objectives. 

 

Class Participation/Attendance Policy 

 

I will not take formal attendance. But the pop quizzes will serve as incentive and enforcement of attendance. Even without the quizzes, please understand that it will be almost impossible to successfully produce the assignments without almost perfect attendance and full attention. I will call on students by name to spark discussion. So please be prepared to contribute with ideas and questions from the reading.

 

Students with Disabilities 

 

Students who require special accommodations need to acquire

a letter that documents the disability from the Learning Needs and Evaluation Center (see

http://college.artsandsciences.virginia.edu/disability-accommodation, email

LNEC@virginia.edu, or call 434.243.5189 – TTY for users who are deaf or hard of hearing).

This letter should be presented to the instructor in each course at the beginning of the

semester and accommodations needed should be discussed at that time.

 

 

 

Method of Evaluation

 

Your final grade will be based on an accumulation of points generated by both take-home quizzes and take-hope essays. 

 

If you earn enough points to reach a following range you will receive the corresponding final grade. 

 

99 to 110 points = A+

 

90 to 98 points = A

 

85 to 89 points = B+

 

80 to 84 points = B

 

75 to 79 points = C+

 

70 to 74 points = C

 

65 to 69 points = D+

 

60 to 64 points = D

 

Fewer than 60 points = F

 

 

Weekly Quizzes (5 points each X 12 =  60 points)

 

Quizzes are to be completed in two hours, with open book and notes. Answers are to be submitted via Collab only.

 

Essay writing assignments (10 points each X 5 = 50 points)

 

Each essay will start with 10 points and I will subtract two points for each of the following problems:

• Poor organization or abrupt end.

• Poor spelling, grammar, usage, or sentence structure (run-on or fragment).

• No or improper citation (if required for the assigned genre).

• Failure to follow instructions in the prompt.

• Each day the assignment is late, starting with the first minute of the day after the assignment is due.

 

Please submit essays via the “assignment” tab on Collab.

 

 

Required Reading

The readings for this course are available in the UVa Bookstore and on Collab

 

Books:

 

•  Boyle, The Public Domain (PDF on Collab)

•  Lessig, Remix (PDF on Collab)

• Decherney, Hollywood’s Copyright Wars (UVA Bookstore)

• Sinnreich, The Piracy Crusade (UVA Bookstore or via Project MUSE through UVA Library)

• Raustala and Sprigman, The Knockoff Economy (UVA Bookstore or electronic version through UVA Library.)

• Vaidhyanathan, Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity (UVA Bookstore, electronic version via UVA Library, or PDF on Collab)

• Vaidhyanathan, Intellectual Property: A Very Short Introduction (PDF on Collab)

 

In addition, we will be reading many articles, chapters and Web resources, as outlined in the pages below. Nearly all of them are available freely for download via Collab, and I will email you the readings that aren’t.

 

Course Schedule

 

The following is a “working schedule.” Class materials are subject to change based on the interests, understanding, and general pace of the class. It is your responsibility to keep on top of any schedule changes, whether you are in class or not. If you have a concern about any of the materials, please speak to me.

 

Please have all of the following read and viewed by class time on Monday of the week.

 

For specific reading and viewing schedule requirements please click on the Collab tab for the specific week.

 

Week 1 - INTRODUCTION 

 

Week 2  – Why Copyright Matters and the basics of intellectual property

 

Week 3 - – The first principles of copyright (First quiz)

        

Week 4 - – The powers of copyright (Second quiz)

 

Week 5 – The limits of copyright (Third quiz)

 

Week 6 – Fair use (First essay due) (Fourth quiz)

 

Week 7 – History of copyright (Fifth quiz)

 

Spring Break
   

Week 8  – Film, Television, and Copyright (Sixth quiz)

 

Week 9 – Music and sampling (Second essay due) (Seventh quiz)

 

Week 10 – Digital Rights Management and the DMCA (eighth quiz)

 

Week 11 – The Public Domain (Ninth quiz)

 

Week 12 - Local knowledge  (Tenth quiz)

 

Week 13 – Free software, Wikipedia, etc. (Eleventh quiz) (Third essay due)

 

Week 14 – Nihilism and anti-IP movements (12th quiz)

 

Week 15 – The way forward and remix culture 

 

May 9 —  (Fourth essay due)

 

May 16 -- (Fifth essay due)