RE: [dvd-discuss] Copyright ranges

[Thomas Olsson <dvd-discuss(at)armware.dk>]

In article <E06ADA0073926048AD304115DD8AB6BC0123971C@mail.onetouch.com>,
Richard Hartman <URL:mailto:hartman@onetouch.com> wrote:
> Interesting question.  I think there is a functional/expressive difference
> here.  The output of the compilers is generated from input created by a
> person especially  to be converted by the compiler.

So the output "inherits" the rights attached to the input, if the process
can be viewed as a conversion? Interesting.

> The output of a search
> engine is the result of a mechanistic process -- nothing is really
> _generated_ by this, it is _collected_ and presented.  I would say that the
> results of Google searches would not be copyrightable.

It shouldn't be, but Google would disagree with you. They have put "© 2002
Google" at the bottom of each and every result page. In effect, they claim
copyright on all possible permutations of output, even the ones that have
never been published. I'm pretty sure the "2002" increments automatically
when appropriate, so it is also eternal.

Something is wrong with this. Of course the notice itself doesn't mean
anything, it just shows what they believe their rights are.

> Otoh, if the courts had been led down this line of reasoning it should also
> follow that Google searches could not be held as _violating_ copyright, and
> yet it has (requiring Google to remove certain URLs from the results of
> certain searches).  
> 
> I would hope that this ruling was merely a result of a poor understanding of
> the process and not how copyright law would function if properly informed.

Maybe their claim of copyright is another way of saying "this is artistic
expression", rather than just a list of results from an index. This, in turn,
might be why they can also infringe on the rights of others with it.

I am fascinated by the idea that you can publish and copyright billions
of permutations of output, just by writing a script. I have already got
a suitable script that demonstrates the stupidity of that, but I need more
information about the laws to perfect it.

> > -----Original Message-----
> > [snip]

Regards,
Thomas

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