trampling upon fundamental constitutional freedoms by seeking to convert what is essentially a
private contractual dispute into a broad-based attack on these principles of freedom of speech
and press, which are essential to a free society.NOTE: A similar result occurred in the Canadian case of Gould Estate v.
Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd (1996) 74 C.P.R. (3d) 206, affirmed (1998) 80
C.P.R. (3d) 161 (Canada: Ontario Court of Appeal). A journalist conducted a
number of informal interviews with the then young up-and-coming pianist Glenn
Gould and, after Gould’s death, produced a book based on these interviews.
Gould’s estate unsuccessfully sued for copyright infringement. After citing from
the Falwelldecision, the first instance judge said:Here too, the nature of the interview, conducted in informal settings – at an empty
[concert hall], at the home of Gould’s mother and on vacation in the Bahamas - was
such that it was intended to be casual, to catch the spontaneity of Gould when he was
relaxing. The conversation between the two men was the kind that Gould would have
with a friend. Indeed Gould and Carroll remained friends for a short while
afterwards. Gould was not delivering a structured lecture or dictating to [the
journalist]. Rather, [the journalist] engaged Gould in easy-going conversation, out of
which emerged comments which provided insights into Gould’s character and
personal life. Gould was making off-hand comments that he knew could find their
way into the public domain. This is not the kind of discourse which the Copyright Act
intended to protect.- Blank forms
Bibbero Systems Inc. v. Colwell Systems Inc., 893 F.2d 1104 (U.S.: Court
of Appeals, 9th Cir., 1989)[The plaintiff designed medical insurance forms, which doctors filled out and
sent to insurance companies to be reimbursed for their attendance on patients.
These “super-bills” contained instructions for filing claims, boxes for information
about the patient, and long check-lists showing the diagnosis, services
performed, and charges. The plaintiff sued a competitor for copying these
forms. The competitor replied that the forms were not copyrightable.]CHIEF JUDGE GOODWIN for the Court:It is well-established that blank forms which do not convey information are not copyrightable.
The blank forms rule... is codified at 37 C.F.R. §202.1(c) (1982):The following are examples of works not subject to copyright:... (c) Blank forms,
such as time cards, graph paper, account books, diaries, bank checks, scorecards,
address books, report forms, order forms and the like, which are designed for
recording information and do not in themselves convey information.Although blank forms are generally not copyrightable, there is a well-established exception
where text is integrated with blank forms. Where a work consists of text integrated with blank
forms, the forms have explanatory force because of the accompanying copyrightable textual
material. ...The purpose of Bibbero’s superbill is to record information. Until the superbill is filled out, it
conveys no information about the patient, the patient’s diagnosis, or the patient’s treatment.60