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From: andrew@orca.UUCP (Andrew Klossner)
Newsgroups: net.music.synth
Subject: Re: DX7 PATCHES COPYRIGHTED?
Message-ID: <1406@orca.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 17-Mar-85 16:14:59 EST
Article-I.D.: orca.1406
Posted: Sun Mar 17 16:14:59 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 21-Mar-85 02:21:38 EST
References: <423@dicomed.UUCP>
Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR
Lines: 30

[]

	"Can patches for the DX7 really be copyrighted?  I can see how
	a diskette or other data encoded medium could be copyrighted to
	prevent it from being reproduced and distributed, but how could
	actual panel settings be copyrighted?  After all if you change
	one parameter in the patch by one value up or down it is no
	longer the original patch and would no longer fall under the
	copyright."

Copyright law includes the concept of a "derived work", which is a work
produced by starting with copyrighted material and making changes.  A
derived work is covered by the copyright of the original work.

For example, if I take Heinlein's last novel and change the names of
all the characters, the result is still the property of whomever owns
the novel's copyright.  At the other extreme, if I take the same novel,
eliminate all but the first word, and write another novel following
that word, the result is a derived work and not my property.

Thus, if you start with a copyrighted patch and make a few changes, the
result is still copyrighted.  You have to make up your own patch, or
start with a patch that isn't copyrighted, to be able to lawfully
copy and distribute the new patch.

None of this should be construed as opinion as to whether a patch can
or should be copyrighted in the first place.

  -- Andrew Klossner   (decvax!tektronix!orca!andrew)       [UUCP]
                       (orca!andrew.tektronix@csnet-relay)  [ARPA]