Kern River Gas Transmission Co. v. Coastal Corp.

How later courts describe this case

• upon failing to establish one element, court refused to consider whether movant met remaining elements of prima facie case
• copyright on map indicating proposed corridor of gas pipeline denied because idea of gas pipeline corridor could not be expressed in any other meaningful way and copyright would therefore allow monopoly on idea
• "To extend protection ... would be to grant Kem River a monopoly of the idea for locating a proposed pipeline in the chosen corridor, a foreclosure of competition that Congress could not have intended to sanction through copyright law_”
• petition for writ of mandamus denied