Post by the_viffer on Oct 27, 2005 11:09:07 GMT
Ok I’ve half an hour to tackle some of the points raised in the thread. When I’ve the chance I’ll produce a more general note on IP and try to get some drinking vouchers by getting it published. If no one will pay then I’ll publish it on the web for nowt.
First off this is not formal legal advice to don’t coming running if it is wrong or you lose out in any way. It is also very general and unlikely to fit exactly any situation. Thirdly I am writing about English law. It may and probably will be different in other countries. Finally I am only writing about copyright and design right. There way well be other IP issues and in Greasemonkey’s case probably will.
So just trotting through the thread in about the order the points are made.
Copyright is automatic. It does no harm to put a © symbol name and date on it. In England it is not mandatory. It was mandatory at one time in the US. I’m not sure it now is and these days I only handle European IP. Sending a copy to yourself is not a bad thing to do. The rights exist only in original works and by sending to yourself you set up a date by which you must have conceived the work. This can be helpful in trying to show who copied who.
Making a copy available for free doe not necessarily waive copyright. You can say I am giving you a copy of the work but I reserve the copyright. It is matter of contract.
The first owner of copyright might not be the person who made the work but could be someone who employs or commissions the work.
Selling a used set of drawings is not an infringement of copyright. Scanning them and putting them on a disk and selling them can be. In some cases it can be a criminal offence and in the right circumstances Trading Standards will prosecute. Feel free to grass the seller up.
The copyright in drawings is very much longer than the design right in articles made to the drawings. So I can’t copy any of LBSC’s drawings because the copyright has around another 35 years to run. I can produce as many articles made to his drawings as I like because the design right probably expired in 1999 or earlier. (I am too lazy to work it all out). Even if the design right hasn’t expired by selling the drawings the authors has I think consented to a least hobby production (there was a statement by ME to this effect once) so you are clearly able to make bits. If you decide to assemble bit A from Drawing X and bit B from drawing Y then you have not infringed any rights and may have come up with your own copyright in the combination.
Maximum copyright is 70 years from the death of the author but relates only to them as artistic works. Conspiracy theorists note that the period is extended every now and then so that the early Disney films seem always to be in copyright. Design right, the right to stop things being made to a drawing, runs for about 15 years and is hard to calculate.
Making a few minor changes will not get you off copyright infringement. The test is has a substantial part been taken not are there subtantial differences.
In Word typing a left bracket a capital C and a right bracket will generate a copyright symbol.
My tapeworm thinks it is time for lunch so I’m going to stop there.
First off this is not formal legal advice to don’t coming running if it is wrong or you lose out in any way. It is also very general and unlikely to fit exactly any situation. Thirdly I am writing about English law. It may and probably will be different in other countries. Finally I am only writing about copyright and design right. There way well be other IP issues and in Greasemonkey’s case probably will.
So just trotting through the thread in about the order the points are made.
Copyright is automatic. It does no harm to put a © symbol name and date on it. In England it is not mandatory. It was mandatory at one time in the US. I’m not sure it now is and these days I only handle European IP. Sending a copy to yourself is not a bad thing to do. The rights exist only in original works and by sending to yourself you set up a date by which you must have conceived the work. This can be helpful in trying to show who copied who.
Making a copy available for free doe not necessarily waive copyright. You can say I am giving you a copy of the work but I reserve the copyright. It is matter of contract.
The first owner of copyright might not be the person who made the work but could be someone who employs or commissions the work.
Selling a used set of drawings is not an infringement of copyright. Scanning them and putting them on a disk and selling them can be. In some cases it can be a criminal offence and in the right circumstances Trading Standards will prosecute. Feel free to grass the seller up.
The copyright in drawings is very much longer than the design right in articles made to the drawings. So I can’t copy any of LBSC’s drawings because the copyright has around another 35 years to run. I can produce as many articles made to his drawings as I like because the design right probably expired in 1999 or earlier. (I am too lazy to work it all out). Even if the design right hasn’t expired by selling the drawings the authors has I think consented to a least hobby production (there was a statement by ME to this effect once) so you are clearly able to make bits. If you decide to assemble bit A from Drawing X and bit B from drawing Y then you have not infringed any rights and may have come up with your own copyright in the combination.
Maximum copyright is 70 years from the death of the author but relates only to them as artistic works. Conspiracy theorists note that the period is extended every now and then so that the early Disney films seem always to be in copyright. Design right, the right to stop things being made to a drawing, runs for about 15 years and is hard to calculate.
Making a few minor changes will not get you off copyright infringement. The test is has a substantial part been taken not are there subtantial differences.
In Word typing a left bracket a capital C and a right bracket will generate a copyright symbol.
My tapeworm thinks it is time for lunch so I’m going to stop there.
