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United States v. Hamilton

583 F.2d 448 (1978)

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United States v. Hamilton

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
583 F.2d 448 (1978)

SH

Facts

In 1970, KDB Enterprises (plaintiff) produced a map of an area in Idaho and obtained a copyright for it. KDB then produced a second map of the same area in 1973 and received a certificate of copyright covering the new material included on that map. Edward S. Hamilton (defendant) made and sold precise reproductions of this second map and was subsequently charged and convicted for his knowing and willful infringement of KDB’s copyright. Hamilton appealed his conviction, arguing that the 1973 map he copied was not an original work subject to copyright protection because it was merely a synthesis of information depicted on maps in the public domain.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Kennedy, J.)

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