Baker v. Selden
, 101 U.S. 99 (1879)SUBJECT:
Copyrightable material
FACTS:
Plaintiff made a book that discussed a booking style. Later someone copied the forms from the book.
ISSUE:
Are forms in a book that describe how to do something copyrightable?
RULE:
A system is not copyrightable.
HOLDING:
Forms are not copyrightable. Just because you write about how to do something does not mean that you copyright the something you are teaching.
RATIONALE:
The forms in the book were simply implementing the system. Although the system was new, the forms were just dictating the system and not original.
POLICY/NOTES: