At 09:46 AM 11/21/04 +0100, Jari Williamsson wrote: >Dennis Bathory-Kitsz wrote: > >> Isn't allowed? If it's HTML, you just make the changes. > > There's no PDF nanny. > >So you are allowed to make changes to copyrighted material without the >permission from the copyright holder? >Also, section #3 in the Finale license agreement says "...you may not >adapt or make alterations to the SOFTWARE..." (where "SOFTWARE" is >defined as the complete Finale package).
Oh, I'm so fond of legal arguments! This was only a question of utility of PDF vs. HTML. But now you want legality? What a fine mess you've gotten us into, Mr. Williamsson! ;) If EULAs are your guide, then one such alteration will be printing out all or part of the manual itself, as you did not purchase such a material object. A printout is a copy. Isn't that okay? Well, no. It violates the EULA (and perhaps even the copyright law itself, as change of media does not necessarily constitute a backup copy) because most likely you've already made your single allowed backup copy! This mess is even worse because there are instructions for printing the manual on page ix of the F2K3 manual itself. Entrapment? :) Notwithstanding the facts that I already put MM out of the picture (as they are unlikely to make an HTML manual available anyway) and that prosecuting non-copyright EULA violations is limited to local jurisdiction (in MM's case, Minnesota), you can still make any additions and changes to the manual that you like in the same way you would make notes in a manual, paste in printed pages, cross out errors, notate workarounds, etc. That's because copyright grants only certain rights, not all rights (Section 106, http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html -- and we're harmonized pretty well with WIPO). The law also grants exceptions (Sections 107ff). Aside from the rights granted to the copyright owner in section 106, what I do with the individual object I have purchased is outside its scope -- beyond which the fair use of Section 107 includes comment and research, where particularly subsection 4 applies. (There's one of the nicer discussions here, by the way: http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/copypol2.htm ) What would you think of a coloring book or workbook where the specific permission to color or write is not granted? Certain understandings may be implicit. Even so, though, here are two other items: The so-called 'law of first sale' (Section 109, http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#109) has been interpreted to give permission to the purchaser to deface (as well as sell or destroy) a copyrighted object (save for 106A, but that's limited to visual art). And whether or not the program can run without a protection key, Chapter 12 probably doesn't apply since HTML is open and cannot likely be key-protected (http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap12.html). Also, the EULA's own section 4 (the required written permission provision) specifically flies in the face of the transfer provisions of the copyright law's Section 109, attempting to butter both sides of its notational bread. The danger here is that MM puts itself in the realm of case law and hopes that this squeeze around Federal law doesn't blow up in its face later. (In this hyper-IP climate, such double-dipping will probably be ignored.) Further to that (and to add one more metaphor to the unrelated mix), MM has messed in its own bed by establishing a plug-in architecture that invites (see 2K3 manual Chapter 9, What It Does, paragraph 4) alterating the software -- both menus and actions -- which is not covered in the EULA. Plug-ins are indeed software alterations beyond the concept of simple data, which would encompass the user libraries and documents, which MM cannot own. Creating a plugin violates the EULA as written (at least in 2K3). In other words, if you want to deal in the legal realm, don't hold your breath for permission to do anything. In truth, though, we fix Finale issues every day with plugins, workarounds, printouts, highlights and marginal notes -- almost all, even public discussion, possible technical EULA violations. So mark up your own Finale manual, whatever its format. If you can, that is. With HTML and a good little wysiwyg editor, it's as easy as adding to, say, a Word document. Dennis _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
