Objectives:
1. Be able to protect the intellectual work product of a business by simulating the employment of patent, copyright, and trademark safeguards while, at the same time, respecting the legal protections afforded to the intellectual work product of others.
Activities Due:
1. "Law in the News": Find a current news or magazine article that deals with patent, trademark, or copyright infringement, and present it in class.
2. Case Study:
o In 1967, Randy Craig Wolfe (aka Randy California) founded the rock group called Spirit.
o In January 1968, the song "Taurus" was released on Spirit's debut album. Listen to the song:
o In December 1968, the British rock group Led Zeppelin made its U.S. debut appearing at a show in Denver which also featured Vanilla Fudge and Spirit.
o In November 1971, Led Zeppelin released its famous song "Stairway to Heaven." Listen to the song:
o In May 2014, Michael Skidmore, a friend of Wolfe, filed suit in Federal Court in Philadelphia on behalf of the Wolfe Trust (Wolfe died in 1997).
The Trust claimed that Led Zeppelin infringed Wolfe's copyright for his song "Taurus" -- that is, Led Zeppelin copied a substantial and material part of Wolfe's copyrighted work without permission. See Cheeseman, 2016, p. 180. A year later, the case was moved to Federal Court in Los Angeles. The trial began in May 2016.
o For your assignment:
(1) Listen to the two recordings and give your opinion on whether you think "Stairway to Heaven" is substantially similar enough to "Taurus" to constitute copyright infringement.
(2) Then do some internet research on the case. How did the jury decide? Where does the case stand now?