Re: Was Judge Hand good for (c)-law?

On 3/24/1998, Craig Joyce <cjoyce[_at_]uh.edu> wrote:
>
> On Mon, March 23, 1998, Tim Phillips <phillips[_at_]phyast.nhn.ou.edu> wrote:
> >
> > I think Judge Learned hand's dictum about someone re-inventing
> > the "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is nothing but legal hot air. In
> > such a case the prior art should be held to invalidate the
> > later copyright.
> >
> > I think the ruling in the "Darandalla" case, Fred Fisher
> > v. Dillingham, 298 F. 145 (S.D.N.Y. 1924) was wrong.
> >
> > Did Judge hand do ANYTHING good for the development of
> > copyright law???
> >
> > Just wondering.
>
> You may want to read a few more of Hand's opinions. I don't believe,
> among other things, he would ever have referred to "re-inventing" a
> copyrighted work.
>
> Also see Gerald Gunther, LEARNED HAND: THE MAN AND THE JUDGE 315-28
> (Knopf 1994), including Gunther's valuable notes, regarding Hand's
> copyright jurisprudence.

One might also add that Hand's approach to copyright issues remains the principal analytic framework used today; it is almost impossible to find a serious opinion that does not ultimately refer to Hand's work.

Sheldon W. Halpern
The Ohio State University College of Law <shalpern[_at_]pop.service.ohio-state.edu> Received on Wed Mar 25 1998 - 19:14:38 GMT