How Many Trees? (WAS: URGENT: Immediate ethical issue)

["Gillespie, Stephen (Contractor)" <Stephen -dot- Gillespie -at- Persnet -dot- Navy -dot- Mil>]

Jan Henning responds to my post re Fair Use:

>Copyright isn't concerned with information, it i concerned with creativity
and the 
protection of same.

Thus, if you painstakingly count all the trees in every national forest
(certainly nothing that the average person could readily find out) an
dpublish that, copyright does not in any way protext the information -
everybody can use it.

What copyright does protect is the expression of the information. Thus,
other people may be forbidden to simply copy your words and publish them in
works of their own.<

Hmmm... not sure if I understand what you are saying, Jan ... how does one
copyright "creativity"? Or is it maybe the 'creative' nature of the
*information*? (haven't read the copyright laws, but I's be surprised if
they cover 'creativity')

So, are you saying that if one does the research (counting trees in the
forest), and published as fact that, e.g. there are 10,380 pine tress in
Yosemite Park, that is NOT 'copyrightable'? I'd say that is the type of
'esoteric', NOT-everyday run-of-the-mill common knowledge that does not fall
under Fair Use.

On the other hand, if NASA issues a study that said "there are no trees on
Mars," I believe I could throw that one around - WITHOUT citing the source
(and get away with it ;-).

Steve Gillespie

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