Demon & DeCSS

[Dave Bird]

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In article <69DB54A9E557D411865000508BA704BA3868A6@mailhost.presentation
.co.uk>, Owen Blacker <owen.blacker@pres.co.uk> writes
>ISTR that the specific [Statutory] defence is one of "Fair use". 
>This is restricted (there is no fair use defence on a Xerox copy of
>sheet music or Ordinance Survey maps, for example), but applies to
>audio music (so you can copy a CD to MiniDisc for your walkman),
>broadcast television (to video a programme when you're gonna be out),
>software (backup copies), journal articles Xeroxed by academics and
>all kinds of other stuff.
>
>I make it clear that IANAL and, as such, I am more than willing to be
>corrected...   :o)


 Generally the arguments run to.......


 FAIR USE.  You can write a piece which extensively analyses 
 or extends another guy's work without his permission, which
 includes quoting parts -- not very large or very crucial parts --
 of his work as part of that process (provided you aren't simply
 trying top hand people the enjoyment of his work without buying a
 copy off him, and you don't lose him many  customers by that means).  


 EXPRESS OR IMPLIED LICENSE. You can argue that the copying you did
 was something which you were allowed to do.  Some jurisdictions have
 a concept of ARCHIVING i.e. you have bought the right to have one
 copy which you can use yourself or lend to a mate,  so if you make 
 a copy to use and put the original in the cellar for safekeeping --
 hence no more copies are in circulation -- then you are doing what
 was licensed. Some software licenses explicitly include archiving.

 In an American case again Sony video-recorders it was successfully
 argued that people were merely taping TV programmes to watch once
 (as they had been invited to by the broadcaster), merely not at the 
 original time of broadcast.  IANAL either.


"Public domain" is not that tricky a concept. The owner or originator
 of material has only to say "I renounce all ownership rights in this
 work and invite anyone to use it", then henceforth it cannot be his
 or anyone else's copyright.  The same applies if the author has been
 dead for a long time, nobody owns the copyright on his work.



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