Rockford Map Publishers, Inc. v. Directory Service Company of Colorado, Inc. And Frances A. Anderson Case Brief
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Case Brief Summary & Legal Analysis
tl;dr: A map publisher sued a competitor who used its copyrighted plat maps as a starting template to create a new map. The court held that using the copyrighted arrangement as a base, even with subsequent verification and correction, constituted copyright infringement.
Legal Significance: This case clarifies that copyright in a factual compilation protects the author’s original arrangement and presentation, not the labor invested. A competitor infringes by copying that arrangement as a template, rather than creating a work independently from the original source data.
Rockford Map Publishers, Inc. v. Directory Service Company of Colorado, Inc. And Frances A. Anderson Law School Study Guide
Use this case brief structure for your own legal analysis. Focus on the IRAC methodology to excel in law school exams and cold calls.
Case Facts & Court Holding
Key Facts & Case Background
Rockford Map Publishers, Inc. (Plaintiff) creates and sells copyrighted plat maps, which visually represent land ownership information derived from public records. This process involves researching deeds and translating textual legal descriptions into a pictorial format. Directory Service Company of Colorado, Inc. (Defendant) also produces plat maps. To create a map of Ford County, Directory Service enlarged Rockford’s copyrighted map and provided it to an agent to use as a “worksheet” or “base.” The agent’s task was to verify the information against public records, placing a green check on correct parcels and making corrections in red on incorrect ones. Rockford had embedded fictitious middle initials in its maps as copyright traps, and Directory Service’s maps replicated 54 of the 56 traps, proving that Rockford’s map was copied. The district court found for Rockford, enjoining further publication and awarding damages and attorneys’ fees.
Court Holding & Legal Precedent
Issue: Does a compiler of a factual work infringe a prior copyrighted work by using it as a base template for verification and correction, rather than conducting its own independent research and arrangement from the source materials?
Yes. The court affirmed the finding of copyright infringement, holding that Directory Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mol
IRAC Legal Analysis
About IRAC analysis
IRAC (Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion) is the structure professors expect in exam answers. Each LSD.Law brief states the issue, the governing rule with citations, the court's application of that rule, and the conclusion - the same reasoning pattern you will use on exams and in practice.
Legal Issue
Does a compiler of a factual work infringe a prior copyrighted work by using it as a base template for verification and correction, rather than conducting its own independent research and arrangement from the source materials?
Conclusion
The case stands as a key precedent establishing that copyright protects the Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nost
Legal Rule
Under 17 U.S.C. § 103, the copyright in a factual compilation extends Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse ci
Legal Analysis
The court, through Judge Easterbrook, held that Rockford's plat maps were copyrightable Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute
Flash-to-Full Case Opinions
Flash Summary
- Copyright protects the original arrangement and presentation of facts in a