7 Things To Remember About Copyright Before You Distribute That Cool Thing You Made!

[LordEntrails]

I should have known to be clearer. Do we really want to devolve this discussion into (fantastical and unlikely) what-ifs? I mean maybe aliens will invade and take over and introduce a new legal system... Why don't we stick with what's currently the law and situation and not speculate?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I mean maybe aliens will invade and take over and introduce a new legal system...

Lex non curat de extraterrestrial legis.

 

[tomBitonti]

For further information in regards to copyright, patent, and trademark law, especially in regards to software, Paula Samuelson is good to read:

Pamela Samuelson

Pamela Samuelson is the Richard M. Sherman Distinguished Professor of Law and Information at the University of California, Berkeley. She is recognized as a pioneer in digital copyright law, intellectual property, cyberlaw and information policy. Since 1996, she has held a joint appointment at...

www.law.berkeley.edu

Author Page for Pamela Samuelson :: SSRN

Total downloads of all papers by Pamela Samuelson

papers.ssrn.com

For example, in regards to fair use:

Possible Futures of Fair Use

<i>Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc</i>. has unquestionably had transformative impacts on the doctrine of fair use in the U.S. copyright case law. These transf

poseidon01.ssrn.com

Reading through papers such as these requires diligence and not a small effort, but is rewarding for gaining a better understanding of legal issues.

Edit: Aha! The old ACM articles are available, and look to be free:

https://dl.acm.org/profile/81100661766/publications?Role=author

Be Safe, Be Well,
Tom Bitonti

 

[aramis erak]

US Process Patents were largely about chemistry and textiles, initially. Patents for the process to formulate a given chemical, or to alloy specific metals, or to make certain complicated weaves. That they got exploited for other elements is due to imprecision in human language.

 

[S'mon]

The EU/US/Canada difference means, for example, that an American can use the early H.G. Wells works but not the late ones (all of which are in copyright now and out of copyright in 2017 in the EU)

Because Berne national-treatment rule has a derogation for copyright duration when place of first publication has shorter duration, and HG Wells' works were AFAIK all first published in UK, they should AFAIK all be public domain in USA from Jan 1st 2017. H.G. Wells's books enter the public domain

 

[prosfilaes]

Because Berne national-treatment rule has a derogation for copyright duration when place of first publication has shorter duration, and HG Wells' works were AFAIK all first published in UK, they should AFAIK all be public domain in USA from Jan 1st 2017. H.G. Wells's books enter the public domain

The Berne Convention has an option for the rule of the shorter term; the US does not implement it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_the_shorter_term has a partial list of nations that don't. US Copyright Office: URAA Restoration says "A French short story that was first published without copyright notice in 1935 will be treated as if it had both been published with a proper notice and properly renewed, meaning that its restored copyright will expire on December 31, 2030 (95 years after the U.S. copyright would have come into existence)." The exhaustive Cornell Copyright Chart has detailed cases for works published abroad, and does not mention the rule of the shorter term. Forbes on a Sherlock Holmes lawsuit is a practical example of this; neither party disputed that the Arthur Conan Doyle estate had the legal rights to his short stories published after 1923 even though Arthur Conan Doyle died in 1930 and has been PD in the UK for some time.

 

[S'mon]

The exhaustive Cornell Copyright Chart has detailed cases for works published abroad,

Very handy, bookmarked thanks!