Metcalf v. Bochco’s Empirical Analysis
294 F.3d 1069 · 2002
Citation profile
11 federal appellate · 7 district ·
How this case has been cited
Cited by 45 later decisions — most recently November 2023 · most notably Rice v. Fox Broadcasting Co. (2003), Funky Films, Inc. v. Time Warner Entertainment Co. (2006)
11 federal appellate · 7 district ·
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 17 U.S.C. § 201 (§ 101 of the Copyright Act of 1976)
Relies on Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid · Litchfield v. Spielberg · Smith v. Jackson · See v. Durang · Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 45 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[Both works] are set in overburdened county hospitals in inner-city Los Angeles with mostly black staffs. Both deal with issues of poverty, race relations and urban blight. The works’ main characters are both young, good-looking, muscular black surgeons who grew up in the neighborhood where the hospital is located. Both surgeons struggle to choose between the financial benefits of private practice and the emotional rewards of working in the inner city. Both are romantically involved with young professional women when they arrive at the hospital, but develop strong attractions to hospital administrators. Both new relationships flourish and culminate in a kiss, but are later strained when the administrator observe a display of physical intimacy between the main character and his original love interest. Both administrators are in their thirties, were once married but are now single, without children and devoted to their careers and to the hospital. In both works, the hospital’s bid for reaccreditation is vehemently opposed by a Hispanic politician.”
5 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“[t]he particular sequence in which an author strings a significant number of unprotectable elements can itself be a protectable element,”
3 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Williams v. Gaye · Williams v. Gaye“Each note in a scale, for example, is not protectable, but a pattern of notes in a tune may earn copyright protection.”
2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majoritye.g. Williams v. Gaye · Williams v. Gaye
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.