rtdickerson@lescsse.jsc.nasa.gov (russel dickerson) (04/30/91)
The previous posting of a recycle EPS with a COPYRIGHT message brings to mind a question that has been puzzling me..... IF the EPS file was based on a scanned recycle logo from some copyrighted source... What portion is really the copyright of the submittor? I know that merely transfering a copyrighted item to another medium does not free it from the prior copyright. 2) IF the original recycle logo is a trademark and has been placed into the public domain, can the submittor claim any portion of the copyright? -- Russell Dickerson Internet: dickerson@vf.jsc.nasa.gov Lockheed (LESC), A22 =================================== SSE System Project X Windows & Motif on Apollo/PC/Mac Space Station Freedom Phone +1 713 283 5193
barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin) (04/30/91)
In article <rtdickerson.672959714@node_25d97> dickerson@vf.jsc.nasa.gov writes: >The previous posting of a recycle EPS with a >COPYRIGHT message brings to mind a question that >has been puzzling me..... > >IF the EPS file was based on a scanned recycle logo from >some copyrighted source... > >What portion is really the copyright of the submittor? > >I know that merely transfering a copyrighted item to >another medium does not free it from the prior copyright. I'm not a lawyer, and I haven't seen the EPS file that sparked the question, but.... If the EPS file is simply a straight translation of the image into Postscript, e.g. EPS that was produced by an automated scanner, then the submitter should have no copyright on it. If it was produced by a programmer, but is just a bitmap description as might be produced by a scanner, then the programmer probably can't claim copyright, either (copyright requires the work to be "creative", not a simple translation). However, if the program displays creativity then it may be possible to copyright it; for instance, I believe the standard recycle logo has symmetries, so a Postscript program that uses a loop to draw the replicated piece in each of its orientations might be creative enough to be copyrightable. In all cases, the EPS program would probably be considered a derived work of the original logo. >2) IF the original recycle logo is a trademark and has been > placed into the public domain, can the submittor claim > any portion of the copyright? Once something is in the public domain, anyone may do anything with it, including slapping their own copyright on it! -- Barry Margolin, Thinking Machines Corp. barmar@think.com {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar
rcd@ico.isc.com (Dick Dunn) (05/01/91)
rtdickerson@lescsse.jsc.nasa.gov (russel dickerson) writes: > The previous posting of a recycle EPS with a > COPYRIGHT message brings to mind a question that > has been puzzling me..... > > IF the EPS file was based on a scanned recycle logo from > some copyrighted source... Let me interject that most of the "recycled" logos I've seen do not bear copyright notices. If someone scanned in a copyrighted logo... > What portion is really the copyright of the submittor? ...then it would be a copyright violation (and of course none of it would belong to the submitter)...but as I suggest, I think that's unlikely. > I know that merely transfering a copyrighted item to > another medium does not free it from the prior copyright. True, but if the original work were *not* copyrighted, then it would not be possible to claim copyright simply by transferring to another medium. HOWEVER: Even though the logo itself might not be subject to copyright, one can write a program which will produce the logo, and the program can be copyrighted. In this case, the copyright protection doesn't extend to the logo itself, but it covers the use of the program to produce the logo. If you produce the logo by some other means, you can use it without infringing the copyright. This is similar to the situation with copyrights on fonts such as Adobe has: The artwork of the fonts (the actual appearance) cannot be protected by a copyright (in the US, that is), but what Adobe licenses is a program. The use and redistribution of that program is protected by their copyright. > 2) IF the original recycle logo is a trademark and has been > placed into the public domain, can the submittor claim > any portion of the copyright? You've given us some very confused wording here, so I may end up dancing around the question you intended. Mainly: If something is "placed into the public domain", it means there is NO claim of property right on it. Neither you nor anyone else can claim a copyright on it--in effect "the public owns it" and anyone is free to use it. (Anyone can make a "derivative work" and copyright that...but deriva- tive works are something else apart from this discussion.) -- Dick Dunn rcd@ico.isc.com -or- ico!rcd Boulder, CO (303)449-2870 ...If you plant ice, you're gonna harvest wind.