From: woods@robohack.UUCP (Greg A. Woods)
Subject: Re: copyright
Organization: Elegant Communications Inc.
Summary: copyright of usenet postings is very confusing
Distribution: can
Keywords: canada,copyright,usenet
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 92 18:00:55 GMT

In article <H0g5RB1w165w@vicuna.ocunix.on.ca> turtle@vicuna.ocunix.on.ca writes:
>         By posting to the NET I do not give up the right for anyone to 
> make copies of my work for any and all purposes.

Your statement is, in it's grandest sense, correct.  However, let us
examine your example of the "important article."

There is in the Canadian Copyright Act what at first glance appears to
be a conflicting set of rules.  My reading of the act seems to
indicate that, provided the Governor in Council is amiable, Usenet
site owners are not liable for carrying copyright works, though the
end-users of Usenet may be, should they save private copies of
articles, and particularly should they re-distribute their private
copies.

In your example I presume you mean actual copying occurred (such as the
article was printed on paper and multiples copies were distributed, or
the accused explicitly e-mailed copies to others), that proper
attribution was maintained on the copies, and that profit was not
directly involved.  In such circumstances I find it hard to see how any
actual damage (moral or monetary) could have occurred.

The real confusion may lie in differentiating between the Usenet site
owner/administrator and the users who actually do the "copying" by
explicit, pre-meditated action of saving a private copy of an article.
It seems this will depend on whether the Usenet site owner is
considered a "retransmitter" and if the retransmission is considered a
"local signal" or "distant signal."

The "intent" of posting a literary work for reading, and that of
posting computer software such that end-users of Usenet may "use" such
software, is also a source of confusion.  From my reading of the act,
I'd interpret the intent of the latter as the expectation that you,
the author of copyright software, have implicitly given permission to
every "potential" user of Usenet to make a private copy of your
software, and use it as they see fit.  Since in theory everyone in the
world could have saved a copy of your software, there seems to be no
way you can claim damages against me (for example) if I offer a copy to
someone who "missed" it on the initial posting.  Also, given the
practical aspects of Usenet, if I offer your software up for
annonymous copying, I am equally free from liability.

In the end, liability under the copyright act is something you and I
cannot decide -- it is explicitly up to the courts of this country.

turtle@vicuna.ocunix.on.ca concludes:
> I think by 
> posting to the NET the only rights I give up are those which represent 
> the normal, expected activities which take place on the NET (ie copying 
> from computer to computer and personal copying on individual machines by 
> individual people).  I retain all other rights and you have no right to 
> copy and distribute my material to other people.

I for one, would be more than willing to testify in any court that as
an author and "publisher" of software via the medium of Usenet, I do
indeed expect my software to be potentially available to everyone in
the world and that I would not hold liable anyone who offered further
copies to people who did not save the initial posting.  I would also
testify that I expect my software to be archived in many places such
that others could in the future access verbatim copies of my original
works.

As such, I expect the only "rights" I retain by putting a copyright
notice on my software are my "moral rights" as defined by the act.  I
may however, depending upon circumstances, argue that my integrity had
been damaged if someone were to explicitly and directly profit from
copying my software, regardless of retension of attribution.
-- 
						Greg A. Woods

woods@robohack.UUCP, woods@Elegant.COM  VE3TCP	UniForum Canada & ECI
+1 416 443-1734 [home] +1 416 362-9772 [work]	Toronto, Ontario; CANADA
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