29. Notetakers Company: Selling Class Notes to Students Teaching Notes

29. Notetakers Company: Selling Class Notes to Students

Teaching Notes

At the University of Alabama, the Crimson White (the student newspaper) refused an ad from a company named “Class Notes.” The rejection of the ad was written up in The Tuscaloosa News on November 1, 1998. A great deal of ethical debate resulted on campus from the rejection of the ad.

Businesses such as this exist near a variety of campuses including Auburn University and Florida State University.

Questions for Class Discussion:

1. 
   Who really owns the notes you take in class?
   
2. 
   Will this service encourage students to cut class?
   
3. 
   Was the advertising manager correct in his decision to reject the ad based on ethics?
   
4. 
   What does the University have to prove in order to win under the Lanham Act?
   
5. 
   How do you get a copyright? What can be copyrighted?
   
6. 
   Do the actions of Notetakers constitute copyright infringement?
   
7. 
   What ethical philosophy was the ad manager using when he rejected the ad?
   
8. 
   How could the newspaper ad layout be improved?
   
9. 
   Since the ad has been rejected, what other methods could Notetakers use to reach their target markets (assuming they stay in business)?
   

This case presents questions related to ethics, trademark law and copyright infringement. In addition, the student is given the opportunity to rework an existing ad and plan other types of promotional activities for a small business.

Students will have differing opinions on this question. Some will say that the student owns the notes if they paraphrase what the professor says when taking notes and do not write down lectures word for word. Others will insist that the professor or the University own the notes. Still others will point out that quite often the professor utilizes information directly from a text or some other published source and that therefore, the original authors own the notes. In any case, there will be a lively discussion on this topic alone.

The usual answer to this question is that it depends on the student. Some will cut class even when notes are not readily available. Others never cut class. It is unlikely that the existence of this service will increase the number cutting class but it will certainly make it easier to catch up when they do. It is also a very valuable service to disabled students.

Varying opinions will again come in response to this question. It is useful to form debate teams representing both sides of this question. An alternative approach would be a role play exercise between the ad manager and the business owner.

The Lanham Act requires that an entity register a trademark, service mark, certification mark, and collective marks. A trademark is a word, description, or mark attached to goods to indicate a source of the good. A service mark is one associated with a service. A certification mark is one used to certify or guarantee the quality of a service, product, or other characteristic or service. A collective mark is one used to indicate membership in a certain organization or association.

In this case, the issue is whether or not the “mark” of the University identification information (e.g., course number, professor’s name, etc.) was sufficient to confuse the buyer as to the origin of the source. The court said it was not sufficient to confuse the buyer and threw out the argument. The notetaking company could continue to take the notes and continue to identify course title, section number, professor’s name, etc.

5. How do you get a copyright? What can be copyrighted?

Copyrights are granted by the Library of Congress. All creative efforts whether written, artistic, dramatic, musical and certain other intellectual works which are original may be copyrighted. A copyright grants the exclusive right to print, publish, or reproduce the protected work for the life of the copyright owner plus 50 years. Registration of a copyright requires that the following be sent in one package to the Register of Copyrights: (1) two mandatory deposit copies of the work; (2) a completed application for registration; and (3) a $20 nonrefundable filing fee payable to the Register of Copyrights.

The case of Princeton University Press v. Michigan Document, 99 F.3d 1381 (6^th Cir. 1996) presents the fact pattern of a note taking company which reproduces not only the notes but also the handouts from a particular class. Since some of those handouts were from copyrighted materials, the question is whether or not reproducing them is a violation of the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. sec. 107. The Copyright Act of 1976 prohibits anyone from using the copyrighted works of another without permission. The University could have argued that the handouts are from copyrighted works, whether the works of the professor or the works of another author. The “fair use” exception to the Copyright Act provides that a professor could use, without permission, even multiple copies of a copyrighted document provided that such was for “criticism, comment, …teaching.” In this case, the argument is that neither the professor nor the author gave permission to Notetakers to use their works in the course packets. Thus, this could be a violation of the Copyright Act of 1976 and Kevin and Jennifer could be enjoined from future sales of the course packets.

There are three main ethical philosophies: Utilitarianism, Altruism and Moral Idealism.

Most students will argue that the ad manager was using utilitarianism when he rejected the ad. He clearly thought that it was more important to not encourage class cutting among the larger student population even it penalized disabled students. Some students will make a case for moral idealism because the editor clearly thought it was his duty to reject the ad and protect the student body.

This is a creative question. Students can obviously redesign this ad in any number of ways. Some suggestions might include: the addition of a hot color to the headline, the addition of a border to set the ad off from its neighbors, the use of various font styles, rewriting the copy and/or headlines and the addition of clipart to catch the eye.

This is a creative question. Obviously, this is a shoestring operation with little money available for promotion. Students will have to confine themselves to low-cost promotional efforts. Some suggestions might include small contests or sweepstakes events, low-cost premiums offered, etc.