Posted by Eugene Volokh: Is It Easier To Get Forgiveness than Permission? http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_10_07-2007_10_13.shtml#1192230380
Maybe [1]sometimes, but not when it comes to using copyrighted works that are owned by two or more people. You can get a nonexclusive license up front from just one of them, without the others' permission. But once you infringe you can't get a retroactive license from just one -- you'd have to get forgiven by all of them. So held the Second Circuit last Friday, in [2]Davis v. Blige. On the other hand, forgiveness for having invented COBOL should be very hard to get. References 1. http://library.thinkquest.org/20230/people/grace.htm 2. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/2nd/056844p.pdf _______________________________________________ Volokh mailing list [email protected] http://lists.powerblogs.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
