Hi folks,
This subject is a can of worms. We are from several countries and I'm
afraid we're talking about a number of conflicting laws and
international conventions that vary both in actual law and in
enforcement.
Here in the United States of America we even have differences between
states in law and enforcement. And to complicate it even further, a lot
depends on how much a particular party can spend to intimidate another
in civil court or who is trying to make what political name for himself
as to what gets applied.
1. Copyright of software basically follows copyright of written
material, which I am told by several careful authors has a couple of
main points:
a. All composed material is defacto copyrighted when composed.
Proof of that composition is a little more complicated. Some
authors mail (registered mail) a copy of manuscripts to themselves
with the unopened and date stamped delivery as proof. Others
register the composition is a number of public ways. Stamping
the composition is considered to be support of copyright BUT
NOT required. This covers everything one gets from the Internet,
since every page and every graphic is someone's composition.
b. I am told that an author's copyright lasts for the lifetime of
the author. As to second party copyright and/or "renewal" of
copyright, I don't know. I am told that once released to public
domain, however, the copyright stays there and can't be reclaimed.
Also new editions are extensions of previous editions. This
includes software upgrades. And the published dates on a
copyright stamp do not denote an expiration date; so if last year
is the last year stated on the stamp, the copyright is still in force
this year.
c. Software licenses are not transfer of ownership of any part of
the copyright. You do not buy software, even though you may pay
sales tax on the transaction, and the licensing terms may include
a limit on the number of backup copies, the number of computers it
can be installed on (irregardless of the number of copies in use at
any one time), the use the software can be put to (such as
non-commercial for private use, whether or not it can included in
distribution packages, used for commercial, etc.), and even whether
or not the license can be transferred to any other party.
This is completely seperate from any guarantee that may be made
about the quality and functionality of the software itself which
may also be covered by portions of the license which may also be
modified by various local consumer laws which may or may not be
mentioned in the text of the license itself.
GET A MAGNIFYING GLASS AND READ ALL THE FINE PRINT. The user is
contracting himself to accept the licensing terms BEFORE he ever
opens the package of install disks or downloads the distribution
files, but he NEVER owns the software, unless he wrote it himself.
d. Derived material is considered to be covered by the copyright of
the original composition. For example changing the background
color of an image does not give one copyright of that image, it
still belongs to the owner of the original copyright who can force
the destruction of the altered one or be awarded compension.
This point has lots of gray areas, in fact more gray than clear.
It is possible to independantly develope very similar things.
Lawyers make immense and obscene amounts of money "sorting out" some
of these situations.
e. International enforcement of copyright varies widely, even of
international copyright treaties. For that matter so does state and
local enforcement. Once again the lawyers get rich.
2. Responsibilty for personal and commercial Internet use varies almost
from city to city, certainly from state to state here in the United
Satates and varies widely from country to country and can fall under a
variety of different and sometimes very old and obscure laws, and not just
those that directly reference Internet useage. It is certainly possible
to illegally access a site that is perfectly legal, and to legally access
a completely illegal site, depending on who is where, how it's done, and
who notices. No one has sorted out responsibility across legal boundries
except in a very few specific cases. Further more under some legal
systems, the actual laws are more or less irrelevant.
This Internet of ours is an anarchy with a lot parties who
have vested interests, many of whom are at odds with each other.
It pays each of us to investigate our own legal responsibilities as
citizens of whereever we are. What is perfectly innocent in one place
may land a person in prison or worse in another. On the Internet we are
international citizens which complicates the whole matter immensely.
Those one communicates with in other parts of the world whether by Email
or by visiting a Website will almost certainly be under different
Internet, civil, and criminal laws than he is.
There has never before been such a medium as the Internet. It is
bringing people together worldwide in ways never possible before. At
the same time there are a whole lot of toes that can be stepped on with
some dire consequenses for some people. It pays to be informed of some
of the pitfalls and to be considerate. Please don't compromise your
friends. International communications as simple as this List are a
jewel beyond price.
End
Peace
Dale Hoogeveen Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Home site: http://www.net-info.com/~dutch
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