Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!diku!keld
From: keld@diku.dk (Keld J|rn Simonsen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.misc
Subject: Re: Re: Copyright laws
Message-ID: <3665@diku.dk>
Date: 15 Feb 88 17:04:26 GMT
References: <11687@brl-adm.ARPA> <693@uthub.toronto.edu>
Organization: DIKU, U of Copenhagen, DK
Lines: 35

In article <693@uthub.toronto.edu> thomson@uthub.toronto.edu (Brian Thomson) writes:
>In article <11687@brl-adm.ARPA> keld@uunet.uu.NET writes:
>>One special thing is that it is legal to copy any copyrighted
>>material if this is for *private* use. This covers music played on
>>the radio which is tapped on your tape recorder, and it also covers
>>software which is published on the net and thus governed by copyright
>>rules.

>Surely, this last bit is overstated.  I cannot believe that it is
>permissible to borrow a book from a friend, or from the library, and
>photocopy the entire thing "for private use".

Well, it is not overstated. It is perfectly legal to borrow a book
from the library and photocopy the whole thing for private use.
Or borrow a record from the music library... But you may only
make a few copies, and for personal use. I do not have the berner
convention with me right now, but it is clearly stated in the Danish
copyright law, paragraph 11. No restrictions other than as otherwise
stated, and this was what I was told in law school too.

>I do know that there has been a great deal of discussion here at the
>University of Toronto about photocopying.  Legal minds here disagree
>on just which kinds of copying are permitted and which are not,
>but I do seem to remember a consensus that there is no explicit provision
>in Canadian law corresponding to the U.S. "fair use" doctrine.
>This is the U.S. rule which permits limited copying and extraction from
>copyrighted works for reviews, "scholarly works", and similar uses.

Copying in schools is another matter. Then it is not "private".
There are copy taxes which apply here. There are also copy taxes
for firms playing music in their business, e.g. restaurants
playing radio. And the taxing people have real troubles getting
this tax paid!

Keld Simonsen, U of Copenhagen    keld@diku.dk