Copyright v. Contract

One of the functions of contract law is to permit parties to define property rights among themselves, expanding or contracting them at their mutual pleasure.

Does the equation change when we are talking about intellectual property?  This is a matter of some controversy, and David Rice (Roger Williams) weighs in on the topic in a new article, Copyright and Contract: Preemption After Bowers v. Baystate, just out in the Roger Williams University Law Review.  Rice (left) makes the case that federal copyright law preempts and displaces contract law, and that courts who approve software “licenses” that extend the scope of copyright protection are failing to carry out Congressional intent.   (No link available.)