Copyright of Facts

[Alex Nicolaou]

InfoNuovo at cs.com wrote:

>   2.3 You suggested that the map data might be licensed under GPL.  OK, so
> the compilation of data is copyrighted.  Isn't this first and foremost a
> straightforward question under topic (1)?   An obvious derivative work would
> be more data compilation, wouldn't it?  I think it hinges on what of the map
> data is copyrighted subject matter, GPL or no.

In order to remove the ambiguity, let's suppose that the data are a
GPL'ed storyline about a samurai's life. Since the data are a story, it
is clearly a creative work and can be copylefted. If someone builds a
samurai fighting game intertwined with this story (re-used, and not
re-written), do the data cause the program to need to be licensed under
the GPL? Does it make a difference if any of several storylines can be
plugged into the program?

alex