Re: alt.usage.english

Paul Wolff <bounceme@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

Evan Kirshenbaum <kirshenbaum@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote
Paul Wolff <bounceme@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
Evan Kirshenbaum <kirshenbaum@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote
Paul Wolff <bounceme@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
Evan Kirshenbaum <kirshenbaum@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote

I know of cases where people (schools being prime examples) got in
trouble for copying books (and sheet music) and then distributing
the copies to their students. That's not what I was asking. I
specified "making and possessing" the copy. The sheet music
equivalent would be making a copy of a score so that you had a
version that would lay flat on the music stand or that you could
take with you to rehearsal and mark up without damaging the
original.

What are the chances that a copyright owner will discover such a
case and then deem it worth his time and the substantial cost of
bringing proceedings in the High Court? -- the court fee alone for
the issue of the writ is hundreds of pounds, and we haven't begun to
lift the lid of the barrel of other costs that go into winning an
intellectual property lawsuit. You asked me to read carefully what
you wrote, so I may as well add that you asked about conviction, and
while there are criminal sanctions available against copyright
infringers, there would have to be a very impressive background
story to justify public money being spent on such a case. In fact,
as you knew when you asked the question, such an event is unlikely
in the extreme. It would take a very rich man with a personal point
to prove and an obsession about proving it, to take a
single-instance infringer to court and see it through to judgment in
his favour.

The reason I asked is that I find it very unlikely that the judgment
in such a case *would* be in his favor. Rather, I'd expect it to be
tossed out quickly as a clear case of fair use.

Well, if you are restricting the discussion to marking up a second
copy of a sheet of music so as not to permanently deface the first,
we've drifted quite a way from the unauthorised reproduction of
commercial sound recordings.

Actually, I'd say that it's a pretty close case. In the case of the
sheet music you're making a copy in order to use it in a way
(writing on it) that you can't reasonably do with the original,

Of course you can. And you could buy a replacement if you wanted a
new clean copy. Or you could do your annotation on a transparent
acetate cover sheet, if you preferred.

Good heavens, if I wanted to mark up my book of whatever-it-is, I
would certainly not think I was entitled to magic myself a copyright
licence in order to add a clean copy to my library as well as the
marked-up version. If I scribble on a book and then want a clean one,
I have to buy another. Where do I get this imaginary copyright
exemption from? Photocopying the one I bought is not fair use, it's
unfair use.

while in the case of making an MP3 out of a CD, you're making a copy
in order to use in way (putting on an iPod or playing from a
computer) that you can't reasonably do with the original.

Yes, that's right. You bought a vinyl disk, and if you want a tape
version, you can buy that too. What's the problem?

You seem to be agreeing, then, that the two are comparable, even if we
disagree about the legality of the implication.

--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |Other computer companies have spent
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |15 years working on fault-tolerant
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |computers. Microsoft has spent
|its time more fruitfully, working
kirshenbaum@xxxxxxxxxx |on fault-tolerant *users*.
(650)857-7572

http://www.kirshenbaum.net/


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