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From: ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig)
Newsgroups: net.legal,net.micro
Subject: Re: Modifying Copyrighted ROM's
Message-ID: <4728@alice.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 21-Dec-85 11:56:35 EST
Article-I.D.: alice.4728
Posted: Sat Dec 21 11:56:35 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 22-Dec-85 01:03:03 EST
References: <6134@tektronix.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Labs, Murray Hill
Lines: 17
Xref: watmath net.legal:2662 net.micro:13229

> Copyrights very closely parallel patents.  If I buy a patented product, once
> I've got it I can do just about anything I want with it (accept copy it and
> try to sell the copies).  If somebody improves upon the product and announces
> something new, my updating my copy if possible is not infringement upon the
> original patent (although it could be a violation of patents on the new
> product).

Well not quite.  A copyright on a work is the ability to prevent
others from copying it.  Thus if you write a song and copyright it
and I write the same song, you have no claim against me unless I heard
your song and therefore copied it.  If you cannot give any evidence
that I ever heard or saw your song, then you're out of luck.

On the other hand, a patent on a device gives you the ability to
prevent any others from building such a device, whether they came
up with the same idea independently or not.  You do not have to
prove that someone else saw your idea and copied it.