Re: Newsl article re:copyright

[Sue Heim <sue -at- RIS -dot- RISINC -dot- COM>]

Charles wrote:
> >> I raised this issue in the first place because I think its a gray
> >> area that
> needs some discussion. How many of you would care if someone made a
> few copies or a few hundredcopies of a manual that your company had
> paid you to write.
And John Posada replied:
> If it for immediate use and would go no further than that one-time
> use, the 20 copied would be OK.  However, if it becomes part of the
> syllabus, then even though it is used only 20 times EACH time, but a
> number of times, then I'd like to be able to give prior approval.

I'd like to add that, without express prior and written approval,
absolutely NO ONE can make copies of any of the manuals that I've
written for my company. If necessary, additional copies of my manuals
can be *purchased* for a nominal fee. Copying manuals, for whatever
the reason, is a clear infringement of copyright law. It's the same
with software. Just cause you're only gonna use one teeny tiny
function of the program, does that then mean it's OK to copy the
program and distribute it (to whomever, a class, your friends, your
family)? No, it does not. Particularly in software development
companies, copyright law is strongly enforced for both the program
*and* it's corresponding documentation.

...sue
-------------------------
Sue Heim
Research Information Systems
Carlsbad, California USA
Email: Sue -at- ris -dot- risinc -dot- com

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