Restatement of the Law,

Copyright

This Restatement will encompass general copyright law.
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At the 2024 Annual Meeting, the membership voted to approve Tentative Draft No. 5, which includes portions of Chapter 2 (Scope of Protection), Chapter 6 (Copyright Rights and Limitations), Chapter 7 (Copyright Infringement), Chapter 8 (Secondary Liability), Chapter 10 (Safe Harbors, Copyright Protection Systems, and Copyright Management Information), and Chapter 11 (Procedural Issues and Relationship to Other Bodies of Law).

At the 2023 Annual Meeting, the membership voted to approve Tentative Draft No. 4, which contains portions of Chapter 4, Copyright Formalities; Chapter 5, Duration of Copyright; Chapter 6, Copyright Rights and Limitations; and Chapter 7, Copyright Infringement.

At the 2022 Annual Meeting, the following actions were taken on Tentative Draft No. 3:

  • A motion to amend § 40 was withdrawn.
  • A motion to delete § 41, Comment e, was withdrawn after the Reporters agreed to remove the Comment from the material for approval, pending release of the U.S. Copyright Office’s report on online publication. 
  • A motion to amend § 46, as revised before the Meeting, was withdrawn after the Reporters agreed to clarify Comment a as discussed with the movant. 
  • A motion to delete all the black letter in § 54 and move its content to the Comments to § 28 on ownership failed upon a vote by the membership. 
  • A motion to remove § 15 from inclusion in the Boskey Motion did not pass. 

The membership voted to approve Tentative Draft No. 3, which includes §§ 10, 15, Comment g to § 20, §§ 27-29, 40-41, and 46-48, 50-51, 53-54, 56-57, 59, and 9.01-9.06.

The following are details of the actions taken at the 2021 Annual Meeting:

  • A motion to amend § 8 to add a new subsection (c) was accepted by the Reporters and passed by the membership.
  • A motion to amend § 8, Comments d and g, failed.
  • A motion to amend § 9 failed.
  • A motion to amend § 22 failed.
  • A motion to amend § 25 to add a new subsection (f) was accepted by the Reporters with a modification and passed by the membership. The new language reads:

(f) When the owner of copyright in a contribution to a collective work authorizes the contribution’s inclusion in the collective work, “[i]n the absence of an express transfer of the copyright or of any rights under it, the owner of copyright in the collective work is presumed to have acquired only the privilege of reproducing and distributing the contribution as part of that particular collective work, any revision of that collective work, and any later collective work in the same series.”

  • A motion to amend subsection (a) of § 25 failed.
  • Time expired before §§ 27-29 were discussed.
  • The membership voted to approve §§ 1-9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 19, and 20-26 of the Tentative Draft.

All draft approvals are subject to the discussion at the meeting and usual editorial prerogative.


Understanding the Restatement of Copyright Law (2021)

In the below video, Pierre N. Leval (2nd Circuit) discusses the Restatement of the Law, Copyright. Leval joined the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1993. Before that, he served on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York since 1977. He serves as an Adviser for this Restatement.

Questions answered in the video include:

  • What is the goal of The American Law Institute’s Restatement of the Law?
  • What is the role of the project Reporter and Associate Reporters?
  • Why is ALI working on a Copyright Law Restatement?
  • Why has the Copyright Law Restatement raised concerns?
  • What is a specific example of an area where the Restatement may provide clarification?

 

Reporter
Christopher Jon Sprigman New York University School of Law
New York, NY
Associate Reporters
Daniel J. Gervais Vanderbilt University Law School
Nashville, TN
Lydia Pallas Loren Lewis & Clark Law School
Portland, OR
R. Anthony Reese University of California, Irvine School of Law
Irvine, CA
Molly S. Van Houweling University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Berkeley, CA
Advisers
Shyamkrishna Balganesh Columbia Law School
New York, NY
Simon K. Barsky SKB Consulting
Valley Village, CA
Michael M. Baylson U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Stefan Bechtold ETH Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland
Susan G. Braden The Office of Judge Susan G. Braden (Ret.) LLC
Washington, DC
Robert Brauneis George Washington University Law School
Washington, DC
Brandon Butler Charlottesville, VA
Dale M. Cendali Kirkland & Ellis LLP
New York, NY
Melissa J. Cha Amazon.com Inc.
Seattle, WA
Jacqueline Charlesworth Sherman Oaks, CA
Kyle Courtney Harvard University, Office for Scholarly Communication
Cambridge, MA
Jeffrey P. Cunard Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Washington, DC
Sarang Damle Latham & Watkins LLP
Washington, DC
Richard Dannay Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, P. C.
New York, NY
Graeme B. Dinwoodie IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago, IL
Timothy B. Dyk U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
Washington, DC
Robin Cooper Feldman University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Simon J. Frankel Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Michael D. Fricklas Advance Publications Inc.
New York, NY
Janet Fries Lutzker & Lutzker LLP
Washington, DC
Jeanne C. Fromer New York University School of Law
New York, NY
Andrew Gass Latham & Watkins LLP
San Francisco, CA
Jane C. Ginsburg Columbia Law School
New York, NY
Wendy J. Gordon Boston University School of Law (Retired)
Boston, MA
Joseph C. Gratz Morrison Foerster
San Francisco, CA
Clifford S. Harris Charter Communications
Stamford, CT
Beryl A. Howell U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Washington, DC
Michele C. Kane The Walt Disney Company (Retired)
Burbank, CA
Robert Kasunic U.S. Copyright Office
Washington, DC
Pierre N. Leval U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
New York, NY
Jessica D. Litman University of Michigan Law School
Ann Arbor, MI
Dean S. Marks Sherman Oaks, CA
Steven M. Marks RoadNation
Kensington, MD
M. Margaret McKeown U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
San Diego, CA
Heather J. Meeker Tech Law Partners LLP
Scotts Valley, CA
Peter S. Menell University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Berkeley, CA
Randolph D. Moss U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Washington, DC
Veronica S. Moyé King & Spalding LLP
Dallas, TX
Alison Nathan United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
New York, NY
David Nimmer Irell & Manella LLP
Los Angeles, CA
Mickey H. Osterreicher National Press Photographers Association
Buffalo, NY
Barrington D. Parker, Jr. U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
New York, NY
Gloria C. Phares Hoffmann Marshall Strong LLP
New York, NY
Mary Rasenberger The Authors Guild
New York, NY
Meredith Rose Public Knowledge
Washington, DC
Pamela Samuelson University of California, Berkeley School of Law
San Francisco, CA
Benjamin Sheffner Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.
Sherman Oaks, CA
Regan A. Smith Washington, DC
Jeffrey S. Sutton U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Columbus, OH
Fred von Lohmann OpenAI
San Francisco, CA
Kim McLane Wardlaw U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Pasadena, CA
Suzanne Wilson U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress
Washington, DC
Liaison
Cynthia S. Arato Shapiro Arato LLP
New York, NY
Kenneth Doroshow Recording Industry Association of America
Washington, DC
Keith Kupferschmid Copyright Alliance
Washington, DC
Joshua L. Simmons Kirkland & Ellis LLP
New York, NY
Suzanne Telsey McGraw-Hill Education
New York, NY
Nancy E. Wolff Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP
New York, NY
Members Consultative Group
Howard E. Abrams Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA
Charles W. Adams University of Tulsa College of Law
Tulsa, OK
Christopher Edward Appel Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP
Washington, DC
Tom Baker University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Philadelphia, PA
Ian C. Ballon Greenberg Traurig, LLP
East Palo Alto, CA
Jennifer S. Bard University of Cincinnati College of Law
Cincinnati, OH
Ann Bartow University of New Hampshire School of Law
Concord, NH
Sanford L. Bohrer Holland & Knight LLP (Retired)
Miami, FL
Steven M. Bradford HNI Corporation
Muscatine, IA
Jacquelyn L. Bridgeman University of Wyoming College of Law
Laramie, WY
John K. Bush U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Louisville, KY
Irene Calboli Texas A&M University School of Law
Fort Worth, TX
John G. Cameron, Jr. Dickinson Wright PLLC
Grand Rapids, MI
Gregory A. Castanias Jones Day
Washington, DC
Pamela Chestek Chestek Legal
Raleigh, NC
Margaret Chon Seattle University School of Law
Seattle, WA
Stephen Yee Chow Stephen Y. Chow, PC
Boston, MA
Penelope L. Christophorou Morgan Lewis Bockius LLP
New York, NY
Eric R. Claeys George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
Arlington, VA
Wayne Dale Collins Georgetown University Law Center
Washington, DC
John Martin Conley University of North Carolina School of Law
Chapel Hill, NC
Jorge L. Contreras University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law
Salt Lake City, UT
Thomas F. Cotter University of Minnesota Law School
Minneapolis, MN
Karen Czapanskiy University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law
Baltimore, MD
Ross E. Davies George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
Arlington, VA
John Fitzgerald Duffy University of Virginia School of Law
Charlottesville, VA
Dave Fagundes Emory University School of Law
Atlanta, GA
Boris Feldman Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP
Redwood City, CA
James A. Feldman James A. Feldman, Attorney at Law
Washington, DC
Joseph Z. Fleming Joseph Z. Fleming P.A.
Miami, FL
Mark E. Foster Law Offices of Mark Foster
Walnut Creek, CA
Marvin Garfinkel Gladwyne, PA
Deborah R. Gerhardt University of North Carolina School of Law
Chapel Hill, NC
Shubha Ghosh Syracuse University College of Law
Syracuse, NY
Llewellyn Joseph Gibbons University of Toledo College of Law
Toledo, OH
Martin Glenn U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York
New York, NY
Nicholas Goldberg Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP
San Francisco, CA
John M. Golden University of Texas School of Law
Austin, TX
Eric Goldman Santa Clara University School of Law
Santa Clara, CA
Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Oakland, CA
Paul A. Gowder, Jr. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
Chicago, IL
Michael Greenwald Philadelphia, PA
Charles E. Griffin Butler Snow LLP
Ridgeland, MS
Herbert J. Hammond Holland & Knight LLP
Dallas, TX
W. Scott Hastings Locke Lord LLP
Dallas, TX
Stephen E. Henderson University of Oklahoma College of Law
Norman, OK
Timothy R. Holbrook University of Denver, Sturm College of Law
Denver, CO
David Hricik Mercer University, Walter F. George School of Law
Macon, GA
Wesley L. Hsu U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Los Angeles, CA
Robert H. Hu St. Mary's University School of Law
San Antonio, TX
Edwin E. Huddleson Washington, DC
Craig Joyce University of Houston Law Center
Houston, TX
Barry G. Kaiman Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP (Retired)
Indian Wells, CA
Howard I. Kalodner Western New England University School of Law
New York, NY
Cem Kaner Guelph, ON, Canada
David R. Keyes Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP
Austin, TX
Jeff Kichaven Jeff Kichaven Commercial Mediation
Los Angeles, CA
Nancy S. Kim Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago, IL
Steve Kim U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Los Angeles, CA
Lori Krafte Wood Herron & Evans LLP
Cincinnati, OH
Hilary K. Krane Creative Artists Agency
Los Angeles, CA
Ajay Krishnan Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP
San Francisco, CA
Peter B Kutner University of Oklahoma College of Law
Norman, OK
Sybil H. Landau New York, NY
Herbert I. Lazerow University of San Diego School of Law
San Diego, CA
Thomas S. Leatherbury Thomas S. Leatherbury Law, PLLC
Dallas, TX
Peter Lee University of California, Davis School of Law
Davis, CA
Mark A. Lemley Stanford Law School
Stanford, CA
Gerard J. Lewis, Jr. Philadelphia, PA
Yvette Joy Liebesman Saint Louis University School of Law
Saint Louis, MO
Daryl Lim Penn State Dickinson Law
Carlisle, PA
Gail A. Lione Georgetown University Law Center
Washington, DC
Lee Ann Wheelis Lockridge Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Baton Rouge, LA
Glynn S. Lunney, Jr. Texas A&M University School of Law
Fort Worth, TX
Robert E. Lutz Southwestern Law School
Los Angeles, CA
Michael J. Madison University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Pittsburgh, PA
Gerard N. Magliocca Indiana University, Robert H. McKinney School of Law
Indianapolis, IN
Andrew D. Manitsky Manitsky Law, PLLC
Colchester, VT
Hugh J. Marbury Cozen O'Connor
Washington, DC
James R. Maxeiner University of Baltimore School of Law (Retired)
Bronxville, NY
Jason Mazzone University of Illinois College of Law
Champaign, IL
Mark McKenna University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
Los Angeles, CA
Stephanie A. Middleton The American Law Institute (Retired)
Greenbrae, CA
Joseph Scott Miller University of Georgia School of Law
Athens, GA
Katherine G. Minarik Coinbase
Chicago, IL
Margaret K. Minister Evisort
Cambridge, MA
Kimberly J. Mueller U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
Sacramento, CA
Edward M. Mullins Reed Smith LLP
Miami, FL
Kevin Reid Murray Holland & Hart LLP
Salt Lake City, UT
Gary Myers University of Missouri School of Law
Columbia, MO
Christopher M. Newman George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
Arlington, VA
Miriam McIntire Nisbet U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Washington, DC
Arden J. Olson Harrang Long P.C.
Eugene, OR
Henry L. Parr Wyche, P.A.
Greenville, SC
R. Ashby Pate Lightfoot Franklin & White LLC
Birmingham, AL
Karl-Nikolaus Peifer University of Cologne, Institute for Media and Communications Law
Cologne, Germany
Mary Margaret Penrose Texas A&M University School of Law
Fort Worth, TX
Jeffrey M. Pollock Pollock Law, LLC
Princeton, NJ
Jason A. Rantanen University of Iowa College of Law
Iowa City, IA
Bernard D. Reams, Jr. St. Mary's University School of Law
San Antonio, TX
Noelle M. Reed Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Houston, TX
Terrance G. Reed Lankford & Reed PLLC
Alexandria, VA
Dan Robbins Motion Picture Association, Inc.
Calabasas, CA
W. Keith Robinson Wake Forest University School of Law
Winston-Salem, NC
Jacob H. Rooksby Gonzaga University School of Law
Spokane, WA
Jennifer E. Rothman University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Philadelphia, PA
Elizabeth A. Rowe University of Virginia School of Law
Charlottesville, VA
Stephen Rubin Law Office of Stephen Rubin
Los Angeles, CA
Matthew Sag Emory University School of Law
Atlanta, GA
Timothy R. Schnabel Uniform Law Commission
Chicago, IL
Jason M. Schultz New York University School of Law
New York, NY
Victor E. Schwartz Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP
Washington, DC
Jessica Silbey Boston University School of Law
Boston, MA
Douglas G. Smith Alpheus LLC
Chicago, IL
Jeffrey W. Stempel University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law
Las Vegas, NV
James Y. Stern William & Mary Law School
Williamsburg, VA
H. Mark Stichel RKW Law Group
Baltimore, MD
Peter E. Strand Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP (Retired)
Ann Arbor, MI
Peter K. Stris Stris & Maher LLP
Los Angeles, CA
Stacie Strong Emory University School of Law
Atlanta, GA
Guy Miller Struve Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Retired)
New York, NY
Jeannie Suk Gersen Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA
Madhavi Sunder Georgetown University Law Center
Washington, DC
Andrew W. Torrance University of Kansas School of Law
Lawrence, KS
Ethan V. Torrey Supreme Court of the United States
Washington, DC
Michael Traynor Cobalt LLP
Berkeley, CA
Marketa Trimble University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law
Las Vegas, NV
Dominick Vetri University of Oregon School of Law (Retired)
Eugene, OR
Chang Wang Kingsfield Law Office
Bloomington, MN
Steven O. Weise Proskauer Rose LLP
Los Angeles, CA
Nancy E. Weiss U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress
Washington, DC
Alfred C. Yen Boston College Law School
Newton, MA
Peter K. Yu Texas A&M University School of Law
Fort Worth, TX