Bowers v. Baystate:
Should shrinkwrap contracts should be preempted by the Copyright Act?
Yes, simply because they fail the extra element test:
Yes, simply because they fail the extra element test:
However, this extra element test fails under a shrink wrap theory, because the extra element, the bargained for exchange, is markedly absent in such a contract. Here, the breach of contract action serves as nothing other than a subterfuge to control the exclusive rights of works within the subject matter of copyright for a work which failed to meet the federal act's standards for protection.see also: the dissent, by Judge Timothy B. Dyk, in Bowers v. Bay State as well as the Pro CD and Vault cases.
Why the Contractual Protection of Ideas is Preempted by Federal Copyright (12/00)