Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ginosko!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!att!chinet!saj
From: saj@chinet.chi.il.us (Stephen Jacobs)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: PD applications on GENIE / EMPIRE Version 3.0 for the ST.
Summary: Not so strict.  This has been argued over before re Compuserve
Message-ID: <9339@chinet.chi.il.us>
Date: 24 Aug 89 03:28:47 GMT
References: <0619801174@uwovax.uwo.ca> <752@lzaz.ATT.COM>
Organization: Chinet - Chicago, Ill.
Lines: 29

In article <752@lzaz.ATT.COM>, hcj@lzaz.ATT.COM (HC Johnson) writes:
> >  
> > If some gracious GENIE user had it in their heart to do the ATARI
> > community at large a great service then they might take it upon
> > themselves to periodically suck up the best from GENIE and input these
> > applications to the more worldly available servers/archives often
> 
> I think the GENIE agreement procludes this, as the Collection of pd on
> GENIE is copyright by GENIE.  
>
This was argued over a while ago when some very enthusiastic people at 
Compuserve attempted to enforce such rules.  A copyright is a reward for
creative work, or may be obtained from the creator of the work.  Making a
compilation (even passively) is creative enough, so the total collection
on Compuserve or Genie is covered, and one may not republish 'The Genie
PD collection' or such without permission.  The copyright on the individual
items, though, is unchanged by their inclusion in a collection.  And it is
most unlikely that anyone would be able (or inclined) to build a case around
the statement 'This is the best software I've seen on Genie this month'.  So
if it was permissible to post a given item before it appeared on Genie or
Compuserve it remains permissible to post it afterward.  Nothing depends on
where the particular copy that winds up posted came from.  Any comments
made by employees of Genie are probably protected by copyright, and thus not
postable.  A sequence of items matching the analogous sequence on Genie might
well be considered an infringement of the collection copyright.  Compuserve,
at least, made it clear to everyone that this was what they really meant 
(After they ran into some people who stood up to the initial threats).
                                       Steve J.