The Volokh Conspiracy

[Eugene Volokh, February 15, 2008 at 6:19pm] Trackbacks

A Folding Heart Card, for Belated Valentines -- and Free of Copyright Liability

(probably). Tom Bell has it for you.

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Smokey:

Was this posted a day late? Or 365 days early?

I could have used it yesterday!

2.15.2008 8:02pm

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arbitraryaardvark (mail) (www):

Are origami patterns in general copyrightable?

2.15.2008 8:03pm

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Tom W. Bell:

Good question, arbitraryaardvark. An origami work probably merits copyright protection under U.S. law as a work of sculpture, unless due to the constraints imposed by paper-folding (there are only so many ways to fold a heart) merger doctrine bars the claim. As for the folding sequence, it would arguably fall outside the scope of copyright on grounds that it constitutes a "procedure, process, system, [or] method of operation," per s. 102(b). (The *illustration* of the folding sequence would of course be protectable under copyright, but I take it you do not question that.)

2.15.2008 8:18pm

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Dave Hardy (mail) (www):

I know that THIS guy didn't copyright it. But how do I know that nobody else, since 1923 or whenever, didn't do so? If I went to the Copyright Office, could they give me useful directions on researching 85 years of folded paper heart shapes?

2.15.2008 8:32pm