Copyright, Literally

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2023

Journal Title

AIPLA Quarterly Journal

ISSN

0883-6078

Abstract

The Copyright Act is a statute, but courts seldom treat it as one. Instead of relying on the precise language of the statute, courts often treat the Act as some general prohibition on plagiarism or copying writ large. This article argues for a different approach. It argues that courts should treat the Copyright Act like a statute and define a copyright owner's exclusive rights according to the precise language by which Congress defined those rights. The results are startling. Treating the Copyright Act as a statute, courts should define the exclusive rights far more narrowly than they currently and generally are.

Volume Number

51

Issue Number

4

Publisher

American Intellectual Property Law Association

Share

COinS