Georgia
How Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., Inc. applies in Georgia: state-specific rules, key cases, and bar exam notes for Copyright.
Georgia adheres to the principle established in Feist that requires originality for copyright protection. The state emphasizes that mere compilations of facts without originality do not qualify for copyright protection.
In Georgia, the requirement of originality is paramount in copyright claims, meaning that a work must exhibit a modicum of creativity beyond the mere arrangement or selection of facts to be copyrightable.
The court held that official state codes must be freely available, reflecting a lack of creativity in the presentation of legislative texts.
The ruling highlighted the necessity of originality and that compilations of data or facts, without a creative element, were not copyrightable.
The court reinforced Feist's principle by ruling that a basic compilation of personal data, lacking original creativity, did not qualify for copyright protection.
Georgia courts follow the federal standard established by Feist, which emphasizes the necessity of originality for copyrightability. However, Georgia sometimes implements a more stringent interpretation in cases involving public domain materials.
Candidates should be prepared to understand how the principles from Feist intersect with Georgia copyright law, especially in relation to originality and compilations.