On 18/05/2010 11:06, Seb Bacon wrote:
On 18 May 2010 10:43, Mark Goodge<[email protected]> wrote:
Yes, but that's not relevant in this case because, as Francis says, it isn't
the database right which is at issue. What matters here is that the fixture
list *copy*right belongs to the league, and copyright is still infringed
even if the content is obtained via one or more intermediaries.
I find that quite interesting, and quite strange. If I'm going to see
my team play next week, and I mention this fact in my blog, is that
infringement of copyright? Or is that covered by fair use?
That would be fair dealing, yes (the term "fair use" is USian, the UK
equivalent is "fair dealing").
I find it hard to get my head around where something stops being a
fact and starts being something else.
It is complicated. Intellectual Property law is a mishmash of rights
cobbled together with different rules not only for different types of
rights but also for different material to which the rights pertain.
Maybe the best way to answer your question, though, is by analogy.
Consider the following:
It is a fact that Dan Brown has written a novel called "The Da Vinci Code".
It is a fact that the first word of The Da Vinci Code is "Renowned".
It is a fact that the second word of The Da Vinci Code is "curator".
It is a fact that the third word of The Da Vinci Code is "Jacques".
It is a fact that the fourth word of The Da Vinci Code is "Sauniere".
It is a fact that the fifth word of The Da Vinci Code is "staggered".
Now, I could go on like that for a very long time[1]. Individually, any
of these statements is fine - a single word extract is fair dealing by
any definition. A group of them - a complete sentence, or even a
paragraph or two - is fine as well. But if I carried on until I'd quoted
every word in the book, that would be infringement of copyright.
Somewhere between a few sentences and the totality of the book is where
fair dealing stops and infringement starts (in practice, that's
generally around two or three paragraphs, but that's a matter for case
law rather than being defined by statute).
The same applies to football fixtures. It's OK to say that Melchester
Rovers are at home to Barnstoneworth this Saturday. It's OK to say that
Harchester United are away to Walford Town on Sunday. It's OK to say
that Fulchester United have a midweek fixture against Earls Park FC on
Wednesday. But to reproduce the entire season's fixture list, or even a
significant chunk of it, would be an infringement of the FPL's copyright.
[1] Actually, I couldn't, as I don't have a copy of the book - I just
googled the first line.
Mark
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