Legal Definitions - copyright misuse

Copyright misuse is a defense used in an infringement case where the copyright owner uses their license to restrict trade or act against public policy. This defense is similar to the patent-misuse defense.

For example, the American Medical Association licensed their medical-procedure codes to the U.S. Government for use in the Medicaid program. However, they later tried to prevent others from using the codes by enforcing their copyright. This was considered copyright misuse and was prevented by the court in the case of Practice Mgmt. Info. Corp. v. Am. Med. Ass'n, 121 F.3d 516 (9th Cir. 1997).

Another example of copyright misuse could be a music company using their copyright to prevent a musician from performing their own songs in public. This would be against public policy and could be considered copyright misuse.