MY NOTES: Business Organizations | Constitutional Law I | Copyright Law | Evidence | Wills and Trusts

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: