 | Panel 17 -- Rec.climbing copyrights
TABLE OF CONTENTS of this chain:
17/ Rec.climbing copyrights
18/ Climbing GIFs
19/
20/ Weather
21/ Climbing glossary
22/
23/
24/
25/
26/ Climbing Humor
27/ Legal issues
28/ Alternative ways to read rec.climbing
1/ DISCLAIMER
2/ Previous topics
3/ Beginner's (climbing) post
4/
5/ Access
6/
7/ References
8/
9/
10/
11/
12/ Ratings and grades
13/
14/
15/
16/ In memoriam
This area of concern is changing daily (YMMV).
In recent months the readership of rec.climbing has included
journalists taking rec.climbing posts and using them for print articles.
This has been done without asking "permission" and has royally pissed
off the climbing postership.
This section of the FAQ is written from the viewpoint of the copyright
laws of the United States. If you are posting from another
country, check with someone who knows the laws in your country.
Anyone posting to rec.climbing should realize that the electronic media
is very different than writing a letter to a newspaper. This is true
for the rights of the poster and for the way in which posters and
view the medium of newsgroups and of the net.
Readers and posters to the net believe the network offers a certain
amount of anonymity, much of which is lost if an article is printed in
hardcopy.
Aren't posts in the public domain?
This has yet to be challenged in court cases. You can be the first.
Do posters have copyright over what they post?
Sort of. Yes and no. It depends on their agreements with their service
providers. *.gov.* sites tend to always be in the public domain.
*.edu.* sites may or may not be. *.com sites may have the most restrictive
or constrictive policies.
You may certainly explicitly state a copyright notice (dated), but you
should understand what that entails, and should understand that at
least in the United States, there is wide debate over what constitutes
legitimate use (See quotation below from 17 United States Code).
Commercial issues
Before you say you don't care, or that you appreciate the attention, you
should consider the case where where others make a profit from your post.
work. It is possible. If your post is not copyrighted, you may not
be eligible for a royality. If your posts are more than the usual
e-campfire banter, then you might actually have something valuable.
Also, without a copyright, you have no control over whether, where, or
how your work is reused.
Can I use (scan) articles from other media and post them here?
No one can stop you from doing this, but you should be aware that you
are probably violating a copyright and can be sued, perhaps
(probably?) successfully.
International issues
You are welcome to look up the Berne Conventions.
If you are even vaguely considering the use of rec.climbing posts for
your local newsletter, you should ask the poster for explicit
permission to use a post.
Once it's in hard copy, you can't take it back.
If you are even vaguely considering the use of rec.climbing posts for
your local newsletter, you should ask for explicit permission to use a post.
Ask the author for permission. Once it's in hard copy, you can't take it
back. And lastly, RETURN A COPY (hardcopy if need be) of the article in
reprinted context.
17 United States Code
SECT107. Limitations on exclusive rights: fair use
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the
fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in
copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that
section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting,
teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship,
or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining
whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use
the factors to be considered shall include-- (1) the purpose and
character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial
nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the
copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion
used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the
effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the
copyrighted work.
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright
USC 47 Sec.227(b)(1)(C):
"It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States to
use any telephone facsimile machine, computer, or other device
to send an unsolicited advertisement to a telephone facsimile
machine"
Whereas a "telephone facsimile machine" is defined in Sec.227(a)(2)(B)
as:
"equipment which has the capacity to transcribe text or images
(or both) from an electronic signal received over a regular
telephone line onto paper."
Note that under this definition, this computer and printer which use
regular telephone lines constitute a telephone facsimile machine.
And now, the payoff. Under Sec.227(b)(3)(B):
"A person or entity may, if otherwise permitted by the laws or
rules of court of a State, bring in an appropriate court of
that State -
(A) an action based on a violation of this subsection or the
regulations prescribed under this subsection to enjoin
such violation,
(B) an action to recover for actual monetary loss from such a
violation, or to receive $500 in damages for each such
violation, whichever is greater, or
(C) both such actions. If the court finds that the defendant
willfully or knowingly violated this subsection or the
regulations prescribed under this subsection, the court
may, in its discretion, increase the amount of the award
to an amount equal to not more than 3 times the amount
available under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph."
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