Basin Books, Inc. V. Kinko's Graphics Corp.

Intellectual Property

Throughout this paper you will learn of many ethical issues that may arise in relation to intellectual property. Some of these ethical issues come from the fair use doctrine, adverse possession, and patent trolls. The case of Basin Books, Inc. v. Kinko’s relates a copyright infringement, where Kinko’s tried to use the fair use doctrine, but was not given this right due to the four factors not weighing in favor of Kinko’s. The importance of protecting intellectual property weighs heavy on the growth of our economy and in numerous other areas. Intellectual property gained protection starting with the Copyright Clause of the Constitution. Does intellectual property ever go too far? This is a question that may be somewhat

v. Kinko’s Graphics Corp. is a case that is specifically related to the fair use doctrine. According to Anderson & Brown (1993) the plaintiffs, eight large New York publishers, produce and market books and sell licenses to others to use their copyrighted works. The defendant, Kinko’s, owns and operates around 500 franchised copy shops throughout the US. Kinko’s had a service for college students known as “Professor Publishing”, which is where the lawsuit came from. According to Anderson & Brown (1993) for this program, two Kinko's photocopy stores in New York City began photocopying, compiling, and selling college course packets that included excerpts from twelve works owned by the eight publishers. Also stated by Anderson & Brown (1993) the publishers filed suit against Kinko's to enjoin the Professor Publishing program, charging that the two Kinko's shops had reproduced copyrighted material in violation of the 1976 Copyright Act. Basic Books, Inc. specifically complained about the fact that Kinko’s made copies of Basic Books, Inc. copyrighted material without their permission, and then sold the material to college students, which lead to a profit for Kinko’s. Kinko’s argued this fact, and related it to being covered under the fair use doctrine. According to Anderson & Brown (1993) after finding that a majority of those factors weighed against Kinko's, the court held that Kinko's was not entitled to a fair use privilege and was liable for copyright

Intellectual property protection started from the Copyright Clause of the Constitution. The Copyright Clause states that Congress may “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries” (U.S. Const. art. I, § 8). This only protect copyrights and patents. The federal law protects trademarks, and trade secret protection varies by state, depending on what that state defines as a trade secret. Patents are granted in relation to an invention. Copyright protects artists’ creations. Copyright and patents give the inventor and artist sole rights to their work for a limited period of time. Through a license agreement, businesses and other individuals can be granted permission to use of the patented invention or copyrighted