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From: dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady)
Newsgroups: net.micro.apple
Subject: Re: Copyrights and piracy
Message-ID: <994@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 9-Apr-85 11:45:41 EST
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.994
Posted: Tue Apr  9 11:45:41 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 11-Apr-85 02:23:41 EST
References: <1529@decwrl.UUCP>
Organization: Duke U Comp Ctr
Lines: 49

> Hence, unregistered works are not really protected.  The
> instruction pamphlet that the Registrar of Copyrights supplies to those
> intending to register makes it clear that the whole point of registration is
> to provide you with just the proof you might need in court. 

My assertion was in response to a posting claiming registration was in
fact a prerequisite for a suit, which is simply not so.  The claim that
"unregistered works are not really protected" belied by a whole pile of
case law.  (A recent well-publicised example being the victory of
Ellison and Bova over a television network.)  In fact, the ability to
register an unpublished work is an innovation less than a decade old.
Please understand that I am not suggesting that registration is unwise
as it leads to the practical advantage you describe and grants further
rights under the statute (including punitive damages).

> > Copying a part of a book for limited use
> > is perfectly legal.
> Not necessarily. It is usually tolerated because enforcement of the copyright 
> protection is not possible, but take a moment to read the notices in a couple 
> of books
[...sample copyright notice and warning curse...]
> Such a statement is crystal clear - you copy my book, even one page, and if I 
> find out about it I'll roast you over a slow fire.

I don't know about barbequing or compelled firewalking, but you'd have no
standing in court.  Like the ubiquitous NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR INJURIES...
signs, the book notice has no legal force.  A copyright page notice
cannot rewrite the statute, which very explicitly says that you CAN copy
portions of the work under the defined limits of fair use.  Take a
moment to read the statute, or the excellent American Library
Association publication that also summarises the case law.  (By the way,
there is even a provision of MANDATORY licensing of some works, with
royalty being set by a government tribunal.)

> The whole premise of intellectual property is just that - though such things 
> are intangibles, ie, how do you weigh the thought required to produce a line 
> of code, they are still very real.  They are an actual investment made in 
> expectation, or at least hope, of a return.
> Dick Binder   (The Stainless Steel Rat)

Dear Stainless, I agree with you.  Sorry I didn't make that sufficiently
clear.  What I was getting at was that there is nothing magical about
rights to physical property.  I consider intellectualy property every
bit as "real" (in the philosophical, not legal, sense) as physical.
-- 
D Gary Grady
Duke U Comp Center, Durham, NC  27706
(919) 684-3695
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