Re: copyright

[Kent Newton <KentN -at- METRIX-INC -dot- COM>]

On Thursday, March 14, 1996 9:11 AM, Garret Romaine wrote:
>I recently downloaded the FAQ for game Command & Conquer and noticed
that
>the author, a Mr. Wong, is claiming a copyright!  As if...

>All he has done is collect e-mails, postings to newsgroups, and the
answers
>to the queries in his document and he still claims the copyright? For
me,
>that seems to me to be a little counter to the spirit of the Internet,
if
>there ever was one [or if there was, if there is anything left.] But it
also
>seems a little dishonest as a writer. Like cutting and pasting is
original
>thought?

Take any collection of short stories or essays off of your bookshelf.
 Open to the copyright page and look.  Yes, the editor of the book claims
a copyright for the book, which is a collection of other people's work.
 Reason:  the collecting, cutting, pasting, and organization of the
material is unique and eligible for copyright.  The difference between
that and what Mr. Wong did, however, is that:

(1)  the book will list the names of the authors,

(2)  identify the original authors, the copyrights, and the copyright
holders for each individual story and article, and (this is the big one)

(3) PAY the author and the copyright holder for the privilege of
publishing the material in the book.

I see a big difference between the two, don't you?

Kent Newton
Senior Technical Writer
Metrix, Inc.
kentn -at- metrix-inc -dot- com