Copyright Law at the Federal Circuit

The Federal Circuit is best known as the nation’s leading patent law court—but it also plays a surprising and growing role in shaping copyright law. This program examines how copyright cases reach the Federal Circuit, often through the inclusion of a now-defunct patent claim and explores the implications of this procedural quirk. Topics include concerns about forum shopping, the court’s perceived bias toward rights holders, and the potential for patent law reasoning to influence copyright doctrine.