Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!barmar From: barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin) Subject: Re: Copyrights Message-ID: <1991Apr29.221806.7253@Think.COM> Sender: news@Think.COM Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA References: Distribution: usa Date: Mon, 29 Apr 91 22:18:06 GMT In article dickerson@vf.jsc.nasa.gov writes: >The previous posting of a recycle EPS with a >COPYRIGHT message brings to mind a question that >has been puzzling me..... > >IF the EPS file was based on a scanned recycle logo from >some copyrighted source... > >What portion is really the copyright of the submittor? > >I know that merely transfering a copyrighted item to >another medium does not free it from the prior copyright. I'm not a lawyer, and I haven't seen the EPS file that sparked the question, but.... If the EPS file is simply a straight translation of the image into Postscript, e.g. EPS that was produced by an automated scanner, then the submitter should have no copyright on it. If it was produced by a programmer, but is just a bitmap description as might be produced by a scanner, then the programmer probably can't claim copyright, either (copyright requires the work to be "creative", not a simple translation). However, if the program displays creativity then it may be possible to copyright it; for instance, I believe the standard recycle logo has symmetries, so a Postscript program that uses a loop to draw the replicated piece in each of its orientations might be creative enough to be copyrightable. In all cases, the EPS program would probably be considered a derived work of the original logo. >2) IF the original recycle logo is a trademark and has been > placed into the public domain, can the submittor claim > any portion of the copyright? Once something is in the public domain, anyone may do anything with it, including slapping their own copyright on it! -- Barry Margolin, Thinking Machines Corp. barmar@think.com {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar