eBay users plagiarizing collectors' content...

[Scott Stevens]

On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 15:09:29 -0400
Paul Koning <pkoning at equallogic.com> wrote:

> >>>>> "Antonio" == Antonio Carlini <a.carlini at ntlworld.com> writes:
> 
>  >> Randy: I know your manuals situation has been discussed here
>  >> before.  It's noble of you to just appreciate the distribution.
>  >> But you certainly deserve to be compensated for your work.  (Guess
>  >> I wouldn't do so well in the open-source world!)
> 
>  Antonio> I'm just taking a wild stab in the dark here, but my guess
>  Antonio> is that Randy (and Al, and almost anyone else doing any
>  Antonio> scanning - me too for that matter) would have less than a
>  Antonio> whole leg to stand on in court!
> 
>  Antonio> I don't claim any rights whatsoever to anything I've
>  Antonio> scanned.  I've not heard anyone else here do so either. If
>  Antonio> you are going to complain that someone is taking things
>  Antonio> you've scanned and selling them, would it not be reasonable
>  Antonio> to ask whether the original copyright holder (who presumably
>  Antonio> had to _pay_ to get the manual written!) might not deserve
>  Antonio> at least a chance to deny your request to distribute their
>  Antonio> work?
> 
>  Antonio> Apologies to those who have scanned only after having sought
>  Antonio> permission :-)
> 
> Actually, even then your comment probably holds.
> 
> Clearly a scanner can't hold copyright in the original content.  That
> leaves compilation copyright.  But it's hard to see how that would
> apply when the material published is simply a full page by page scan
> of the original.
> 

You can probably claim copyright over any lint and odd spots on the scan
that are artifacts of your scanning, as 'artistic expression.'