[License-discuss] Looking for a license agreement.

[Chad Perrin]

On Fri, Oct 07, 2011 at 04:09:24PM +0100, David Woolley wrote:
> Chad Perrin wrote:
> >
> >This may be a touch off-topic for this list, but . . . why would you want
> >to grant someone the ability to prohibit others from using *facts* by the
> >simple expedient of (for instance) alphabetizing a list of facts?  That's
> >insane.  In a time when even the ability to maintain a monopoly over
> >things that have been *created* is becoming controversial, someone
> >asserting a monopoly over information that has been *found* seems quite
> >regressive and, frankly, harmful.
> 
> Database copyrights are not like patents.  As long as you obtain the 
> fact independently, you can publish them.  Telephone directories and 
> maps have bogus entries to help detect whether a competing compilation 
> is truly independent.

The very existence of a copyright is a threat to others who deal in the
material, because of the potential for expensive litigation regardless of
the expected outcome if all parties are able to see it through to
judgment.  In the real world, the legal system is a bit more of a problem
than the letter of the law might suggest.  That, at least, is what I have
observed.

-- 
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]
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