Contracts Keyed to Farnsworth
ProCD, Inc. v. Zeidenberg
ProfessorMelissa A. Hale
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Plaintiff compiled telephone directory information from more than 3000 directories into a database, available on CD-ROM. The court found that the database was costly to compile and was expensive to keep current. Plaintiff planned to charge one price for limited use to consumers and a higher price to commercial users which ordinarily would pay intermediaries expensive fees for such information. The Shrinkwrap license to consumer product, sold at a lower cost than the commercial version, stated that use was limited to non-commercial purposes. Every box declared that the software comes with restrictions stated in an enclosed license, which is available on the disk and also which appears on the screen every time the software runs.
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*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
Topic:
Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.Parties:
Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.Procedural Posture & History:
Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.:
A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises:
Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
Brief Facts:
A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.Rule of Law:
Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.Facts:
What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case.Issue(s):
Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.Holding:
Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.Concurring / Dissenting Opinions:
Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.Reasoning and Analysis:
Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
Policy:
Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.Court Direction:
Shares where the Court went from here for this case.
Topic Resources
19m 28s