ljdickey@watmath.UUCP (Lee Dickey) (05/30/84)
If I send you a letter:
(1) Do you have the right to show it to the world?
(i.e., to publish it?)
(2) Does it make a difference where I live?
(3) Does it make a difference where you live?
Does the answer to these question change if I include in my letter
something like "(c) 1984 L.J.Dickey" ?
--
Lee Dickey, University of Waterloo. (ljdickey@watmath.UUCP)
... {allegra, decvax} !watmath!ljdickeyrcb@fortune.UUCP (Robert Binstock) (05/31/84)
>>If I send you a letter: >> (1) Do you have the right to show it to the world? >> (i.e., to publish it?) >> (2) Does it make a difference where I live? >> (3) Does it make a difference where you live? >>Does the answer to these question change if I include in my letter >>something like "(c) 1984 L.J.Dickey" ? >> Lee Dickey, (1) No. (2) No. (3) No. Bob Binstock
berry@zinfandel.UUCP (06/05/84)
#R:fortune:-348800:zinfandel:4900018:000:883 zinfandel!berry Jun 1 12:29:00 1984 /***** zinfandel:net.followup / fortune!rcb / 3:18 pm May 31, 1984 */ >>If I send you a letter: >> (1) Do you have the right to show it to the world? >> (i.e., to publish it?) >> (2) Does it make a difference where I live? >> (3) Does it make a difference where you live? >>Does the answer to these question change if I include in my letter >>something like "(c) 1984 L.J.Dickey" ? >> Lee Dickey, (1) No. (2) No. (3) No. Bob Binstock /* ---------- */ I seem to recall reading somewhere that in the US, a letter is the property of the recipient. Thus if I get a letter, it is MINE and I can do with it what I will. In the UK, however, a letter remains the property of the sender, and you cannot publish it without consent. The motive of a mystery story hinged on this. This is not a very authoritative reference, sorry. --berry (This note NOT copyright)
bob@islenet.UUCP (Robert P. Cunningham) (06/06/84)
Although not involving copyright, a possibly pertinent decision was
rendered yesterday by the state Supreme Court here.
The case in point involved 13 persons accused of offering bribes to
policemen for protection of massage parlors (which, in cases,
covers for prostitution). The major evidence against the defendents
consisted of taped conversations between them and supposedly-crooked
policemen. The policemen were not crooked, of course, and they were taping
the conversations. No warrant had been obtained for the taping.
In the original trial, the Circuit judge ruled that the taping violated the
suspects' right to privacy under the (state) Constitution.
In a 3-2 decision, the state Supreme Court ruled that, in absence of
specific laws to the contrary, there was a distinction between taping
private conversations unbeknowngst to either party, and the taping of a
conversation known to one party.
Succinctly: "..a defendent cannot expect that his statements to another
person will remain private or not be repeated to others."
It's quite possible that an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court will follow.
--
Bob Cunningham ..{dual,ihnp4,uhpgvax,vortex}!islenet!bob
Honolulu, Hawaiifaunt@saturn.UUCP (06/11/84)
Who does mail belong to if I send from the US to Britain??
dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (06/12/84)
>From: berry@zinfandel.UUCP Tue Jun 5 04:25:09 1984 > >>>If I write you a letter... >>> (1) Do you have the right to show it to the world? >>> (i.e., to publish it?) >>> (2) Does it make a difference where I live? >>> (3) Does it make a difference where you live? > >>>Does the answer to these question change if I include in my letter >>>something like "(c) 1984 L.J.Dickey" ? > >>> Lee Dickey, > >I seem to recall reading somewhere that in the US, a letter is the property >of the recipient. Thus if I get a letter, it is MINE and I can do with it >what I will. In the UK, however, a letter remains the property of the >sender, and you cannot publish it without consent. The motive >of a mystery story hinged on this. This is not a very authoritative reference, >sorry. I wish I could remember where I read this (June Writer's Digest??), but I believe that the physical letter is the property of the recipient while the copyright on the text belongs to the author. If so that would mean you could indeed 'show the letter to the world' on a one-at-a-time basis, but not run off copies or show on television or broadcast over this network (although whether this latter constitutes publishing might require an appelate decision or three). The original author could not demand return of the letter but could seek damages on publication. The copyright notice is not needed unless the work is published. (This is the old common law copyright, now statutory in the US.) Letters to the editor are an exception, in that they are implicitly for publication unless clearly stated otherwise. It might be noted as well that there are non-copyright matters here. One is the issue of privacy. If you write to me in confidence and admit to some embarrasing fact (liking BASIC, say) and I in turn tell everyone, 'Hey, guess who likes BASIC!!' that could be held an invasion of privacy if it could be shown you had a reasonable expectation that your admission would remain confidential. In short, the matter is too complicated to answer in some blanket fashion. There is also the fact that (as many people on this net are tiresomely fond of pointing out, as though they discovered it) what's legal and what's right are not identical sets. I'm not an attorney but I know what I like... D Gary Grady Duke University Computation Center, Durham, NC 27706 (919) 684-4146 USENET: {decvax,ihnp4,akgua,etc.}!mcnc!ecsvax!dgary
paulsc@tekecs.UUCP (Paul Scherf) (06/12/84)
Who does mail belong to if I send it from Britain to the US?