Copyright: The political scientist’s case

Hello there,

Scenario:

You are a political scientist who has spent a career researching the voting patterns of every voting bloc in every congressional district in America for the past 100 years. You publish your results in a book. Your results are so astonishing that every pundit in America begins to use them in columns and talk shows. However, they do so without asking your permission, giving you credit or paying you. Can you successfully sue them?

This thread analyzes the political scientist’s case and determines if a successful lawsuit can be made. Happy reading!

Copyright is automatically applicable to works expressed in a fixed tangible form. It therefore protects published and unpublished works. Notably, a work does not have to be registered to be protected by copyright laws. However, in order to take legal action against a user who violates the holder’s rights, then it is pertinent that the work is registered with the copyright office. Although registration is not compulsory as outlined in the 1976 copyright act, it has been documented that it is essential for litigation purposes. In fact, the U.S. Copyright Office (2021) highlighted that “before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration (or refusal) is necessary for U.S. works” (p. 5). As such, registration for U.S. works is required before a lawsuit can be filed. Moreover, the fair use doctrine allows copyright protected works to be used in certain circumstances “such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research” (U.S. Copyright Office, 2022). Section 107 of the copyright act identifies these exemplars as cases of fair use.

Considering these findings, it is safe to conclude that as a political scientist, I will not be able to successfully make a lawsuit against the defendants. First, if we take a closer look at the case, one can clearly see that my work is automatically protected by copyright as it has been published in a book. Secondly, the fair use doctrine permits the use of my works in columns and talk shows (See background information above). Thirdly, it can be argued that the defendants violated my rights as they used my work without seeking permission, making proper attributions, and making payments. Although most of these are elements of copyright infringement, the question remains, are my works registered with the U.S. Copyright Office? If the answer to that pertinent question is yes, then perhaps I can make a claim that my rights have been violated as the users did not seek permission to use my work and failed to make the appropriate attribution. However, the defendants can counterargue that their use of my work is protected by the fair use doctrine which permits the unlicensed use of works in news reporting, comments, and critiques (specifically talk shows and columns). So, even if my work is registered, it is very likely for a judge to make a ruling in the defendants’ favor.

This may also be the case if my work is unregistered. Although the case in point did not make mention of the work being registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, it plays a crucial role in litigation and court cases. As such, copyright registration can make all the difference in this case. Essentially, the fair use doctrine coupled with copyright registration will make my case an unsuccessful one.

I anticipate your feedback on this analysis!

Krista

MDE student

University of Maryland Global Campus

University of Maryland Global Campus | UMGC

References U. S. Copyright Office. (2021). Circulars. Copyright.gov. https://www.copyright.gov/circs/ U. S.