Copyrights. (The thread that wouldn't die)

[rwifall@NMSU.edu (Richard Wifall)]

I'm posting this here for the benefit of Jeff and anyone else who has
been following this thread.  I would especially like to point out
items 2, 5, and 8 as they have direct relevance to our
conversation.

   In article <Ct6L45.2Ex@clarinet.com> Brad Templeton, brad@clarinet.com
   writes:
   :
   :               10 Big Myths about copyright explained
   :                       By Brad Templeton
   : 
   : 
   :       1) If it doesn't have a copyright notice, it's not
   :       copyrighted.
   : 
   :       This was true in the past, but today almost all major
   :       nations follow the Berne copyright convention.  After April
   :       1, 1989, everything created in the USA, for example, is
   :       copyrighted and protected whether it has a notice or not.
   :       The default you must assume for other people's works is that
   :       they are copyrighted and may not be copied unless you *know*
   :       otherwise.  There are some old works that lost protection
   :       without notice, but frankly you should not risk it unless
   :       you know for sure.
   : 
   :       It is true that a notice strengthens the protection, by
   :       warning people, and by allowing one to get more and
   :       different damages, but it is not necessary.  If it looks
   :       copyrighted, you must assume it is.
   : 
   :       2) If I don't charge for it, it's not a violation.
   : 
   :       False.  Whether you charge can affect the damages awarded in
   :       court, but that's the only difference.  It's still a
   :       violation if you give it away -- and there can still be
   :       heavy damages if you hurt the commercial value of the
   :       property.
   : 
   :       3) If it's posted to USENET it's in the public domain.
   : 
   :       False.  Nothing is in the public domain anymore unless the
   :       owner explicitly puts it in the public domain(*).  Explicitly,
   :       as in you have a note from the author/owner saying, "I grant
   :       this to the public domain."  Those exact words or words very
   :       much like them.
   : 
   :       Some argue that posting to USENET implicitly grants
   :       permission to everybody to copy the posting as much as they
   :       like.  This is very probably wrong.  First, the whole
   :       purpose of copyright is to provide protection to people
   :       *after* they freely distribute it.  For example, George
   :       Lucas still owns Star Wars after broadcasting it on free TV
   :       or giving copies to lots of people.  Secondly, that argument
   :       breaks down when one considers what it would mean for you to
   :       post an MPEG of Star Wars to the net (other than some really
   :       annoyed people with v.32bis modem feeds.)  All the copying
   :       would still go on, but clearly without permission since you
   :       -- unless you are George Lucas -- didn't have the right to
   :       give permission to copy in the first place.
   : 
   :       (*) It's also in the public domain if the creator has been
   :       dead for 50 years.  If anybody dead for 50 years is posting
   :       to the net, let me know.
   : 
   :       4) My posting was just fair use!
   : 
   :       See the notes on fair use for a detailed answer, but bear
   :       the following in mind:
   : 
   :       The "fair use" exemption to copyright law was created to
   :       allow commentary, news reporting and education *on*
   :       copyrighted works without the permission of the author.  In
   :       this case, the "on" is important.  You must be commenting on
   :       or reporting about the *work*, not the subject matter of the
   :       work.  If you could have reported the facts in your own
   :       words, but didn't to save typing, it's probably not fair
   :       use.  If you needed to demonstrate something about the
   :       actual work or writing, then it might be fair use.
   : 
   :       Fair use is almost always a short excerpt and almost always
   :       attributed.  It should not ruin the commercial value of the
   :       work (which is why reproduction of the entire work is
   :       generally verboten.)
   : 
   :       5) If you don't defend your copyright you lose it.
   : 
   :       False.  Copyright is *never* lost now, unless explicitly
   :       given away.  You may be thinking of trade marks, which can
   :       be weakened or lost if not defended.
   : 
   :       6) Somebody has that name copyrighted!
   : 
   :       You can't copyright a name, or anything short like that.
   :       Titles usually don't qualify, but I doubt you could write a
   :       song entitled "Everybody's got something to hide except for
   :       me and my monkey."
   : 
   :       However, you can trademark an adjective, when applied to a
   :       generic type of product or service.  Like an "Apple"
   :       computer.  Apple Computer owns that word applied to
   :       computers, even though it is also an ordinary word.  Apple
   :       records owns it when applied to music.  Neither owns the
   :       word on its own, only in context.
   : 
   :       You can't use somebody else's trademark in a way that would
   :       unfairly hurt the value of the mark, or in a way that might
   :       make people confuse you with the real owner of the mark, or
   :       which might allow you to profit from the mark's good name.
   :       For example, if I were giving advice on music videos, I
   :       would be very wary of trying to label my works with a name
   :       like "mtv."  :-)
   : 
   :       7) They can't get me, I'm innocent until proven guilty.
   : 
   :       Copyright law is mostly civil law.  If you violate copyright
   :       you would usually get sued, not charged with a crime.
   :       "Innocent until proven guilty" is a principle of criminal
   :       law, as is "proof beyond a reasonable doubt."  Sorry, but in
   :       copyright suits, these don't apply.  It's mostly which side
   :       the judge or jury believes more.
   : 
   :       8) Oh, so copyright violation isn't a crime or anything?
   : 
   :       Actually, recently in the USA commercial copyright
   :       violations involving more than 10 copies and/or value over
   :       $2500 was made a felony.  So watch out.  (At least you get
   :       the protections of criminal law.)
   : 
   :       9) It doesn't hurt anybody, in fact it's free advertising.
   : 
   :       It's up to the owner to decide if they want the free ads or
   :       not.  If they want them, they will be sure to contact you.
   :       Don't rationalize whether it hurts the owner or not, *ask*
   :       them.  Usually that's not too hard to do.  Time past,
   :       ClariNet published the very funny Dave Barry column to a
   :       large and appreciative USENET audience for a fee, but some
   :       jerk didn't ask, and forwarded it to a mailing list, got
   :       caught, and the newspaper chain that employs Dave Barry
   :       pulled the column from the net, pissing off everybody who
   :       enjoyed it.  Even if you can't think of how the author or
   :       owner gets hurt, think about the fact that piracy on the net
   :       hurts everybody who wants a chance to use this wonderful new
   :       technology to do more than read other people's flamewars.
   : 
   :       10) They e-mailed me a copy, so I can post it.
   : 
   :       To have a copy is not to have the copyright.  All the E-mail
   :       you write is copyrighted.  However, E-mail is not, unless
   :       previously agreed, secret.  So you can certainly *report* on
   :       what E-mail you are sent, and reveal what it says.  You can
   :       even quote parts of it to demonstrate.  Frankly, somebody
   :       who sues over an ordinary message might well lose, because
   :       the message has no commercial value, but if you want to stay
   :       strictly in the law, you should ask first.
   : 
   :               Permission is granted to freely copy this
   :               document in electronic form, or to print for
   :               personal use.  If you had not seen a notice
   :               like this on the document, you would have to
   :               assume you did not have permission to copy it.
   :               This document is still protected by you know
   :               what even though it has no copyright notice.
   :


(Thanks Brad)
--
Richard Wifall - rwifall@nmsu.edu - http://starship.nmsu.edu:6502/
"We are children of the Mensch."