Hi,
Every once in a while, some free software or free content writers raise
the following question: Can someone take a public domain work and claim
copyright on the copies he makes? Example instances of this question include:
1. Can a bible printer claim copyright, and prevent us from inputting it
into a computer and creating a free (as in free software) bible?
2. If a publisher publishes a new copy of a 100 year old book, am I
allowed to OCR it and make it available for free? (Let's assume I
can't find an actual 100 year old copy of the same text).
3. If someone already OCRed a public domain book and sells this digital
copy, can he make arbitrary licensing requirements on this copy, or
am I allowed to just take the text and give it to anyone?
4. If I find a picture of an old painting, can I use it on my site or can
the photographer claim copyright on it?
A few years ago, in a radio lecture on the Israeli radio, I heard that
Israeli law requires a "creative act". All of the above examples may involve
hard work, but NOT creativity, so they cannot be copyrighted.
Today I was happy to find that the situation is similar in the US.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgeman_Art_Library_v._Corel_Corp.
explains that US copyright law requires "originality". "originality" is
not as strong a demand as "creativity", but in most of the above examples
there is obviously no originality, and the claimed copyright is void.
The article linked above explains that it is especially obvious that there
is no "originality" when the intent of the copyright-claimer was to produce
as exact reproduction as possible of the original - and this is indeed the
intent of a bible typesetter, a painting photographer, a book OCRer, and so
on.
In my opinion, This is very important to know. Knowing that such laws exist
can help us (writers of free software and content) ignore hollow threats
from people who'd rather the world pay them for accessing public domain
objects, instead of the objects really being in the public's domain.
Just thought that other people on this list might also want to know this...
--
Nadav Har'El | Tuesday, Feb 21 2006, 23 Shevat 5766
[EMAIL PROTECTED] |-----------------------------------------
Phone +972-523-790466, ICQ 13349191 |My greatest fear is that no-one will
http://nadav.harel.org.il |remember me after I'm dead - some dead guy
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