Re: ProCD v Zeidenberg, 908 F.Supp 640 (W.D. Wisc) - Reply

In the context of explaining the ProCD court's willingness to find the contract action to enforce the shrinkwrap preempted by the Copyright Act, Samuel Lewis, Esq. wrote:

[Snip]
> The attempt to use contract remedies might have worked if not for
> the fact that the material wasn't afforded any protection under
> copyright law.

I am a little confused. Is this a meaningful test for preemption? Does this mean that any and every contract license for uncopyrightable materials is unenforceable due to preemption? This strikes me as well beyond any rational boundaries for preemption. I had read the court's discussion on preemption as erroneous dicta.

Eric.

Eric Schlachter, Esq.
Cooley Godward Castro Huddleson & Tatum, Palo Alto, CA Adjunct Professor of Cyberspace Law, Univ. of San Francisco School of Law
schlachtere[_at_]cooley.com
(415) 843-5154

Check out the Globe! http://www.webgenesis.com Received on Wed Apr 03 1996 - 22:34:16 GMT