[Coco] The dire condition of software documentation..

[Gene Heskett]

On Monday 12 August 2019 11:47:16 Dennis Bathory-Kitsz wrote:

> I'll take on a couple of points here. Some of you know I've been
> writing about copyright publicly since my 1980 cover story in 80
> Micro, I've been involved longer than that as a composer, over the
> past 30 years have been an active a member of ASCAP, and teach a
> college course in Intellectual Property for Musicians.
>
> 1. Unlike the first 10 amendments ("Bill of Rights"), copyright is the
> only right actually granted in the body of the US Constitution (Art. I
> Sec. 8). So it was never intended to be taken lightly.
>
> 2. The US law was written to encourage creative work; the original
> English laws were created to protect publishers. This affects
> discussion of the so-called "commons".
>
> 3. These conversations are only 'in the weeds' until you get sued.
> Your hobby or non-profit status does not protect you.
>
> 4. Fair use is not necessarily what you think it is. Read
> <https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html>

Which has loopholes specifically for libraries etc.

> 5. International treaties are not yet harmonized with US law, so where
> you live affects what is protected and for how long it is protected.
> (Also, fair use is largely a US construct while droit d'auteur is
> largely European.)
>
> 6. Copyright is a "touchstone" because some of us depend on copyright
> and subsequent royalties for our livelihoods, and are likewise very
> careful to obtain permission for any use of existing protected
> material.
>
> 7. You may not like the copyright law as it exists now (I don't). So
> vote.
>
Unfortunately Dennis, the vote for who's butt warms the seat isn't 
terribly important, the Disney Donations to that offices holder are of 
much higher value than my vote or yours. 

I'd like to see the swamp drained, but Trump has made it plain by his 
actions its not going to happen on his watch despite all the bluster in 
his tweets.

> Dennis
>
> On 2019-08-12 10:58, Michael Miller wrote:
> > I agree with you 100% on all points. All too often in discussions of
> > copyright, people get stuck in the weeds without taking into account
> > what the actual PURPOSE of copyright is supposed to be.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Coco <coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com> On Behalf Of Alex Evans
> > Sent: Monday, August 12, 2019 10:52 AM
> > To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Coco] The dire condition of software documentation..
> >
> > You could have inherited those rights and not know about it. You
> > could buy an entity which holds copyrights that are not well
> > documented and not know about it. There are lots of ways to end up
> > holding a copyright where you don't realize you own the copyright.
> > Legally, yes. Ethically, I'm sorry, but the intent of copyright law
> > based in the English tradition is to encourage the creation of
> > intellectual property while simultaneously trying to give the widest
> > availability for use. While legally wrong any use which does not
> > diminish the effectiveness of copyright in encouraging the creation
> > of intellectual property is *not* unethical. Violating the
> > copyrights of someone who is using those rights intentionally or not
> > in a manner that is in opposition to the intent in granting those
> > rights is not unethical.
> >
> > And again, figuring out *who* holds the rights can be damned
> > difficult and it can be unclear who owns the copyright.
> >
> > Why has copyright always been such a touchstone on this list? We all
> > already know that if the issue of copyright comes up, it is likely
> > to degenerate into a flame war and here I am contributing to that
> > possibility.
> >
> > On Mon, Aug 12, 2019 at 10:30 AM Bill Gunshannon
> >
> > <bill.gunshannon at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >> On 8/12/19 9:26 AM, Alex Evans wrote:
> >> > The question of who holds the copyright can be vague or at least
> >> > very difficult to figure out.
> >>
> >> If you didn't create it or buy the rights you do not hold the
> >> Copyright.  Somebody does and those rights should be respected both
> >> legally and ethically.
> >>
> >> bill


Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.
 - Louis D. Brandeis
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>