VMs: VMS images and copyright

[Walter Ogburn <ogburn@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thursday 17 June 2004 03:42 pm, Ken W wrote:
>
> I'm hoping to recompile a pdf of the complete MS if there is interest
> and it is not breaking any laws.
>

That's an interesting question.  I think most of us have assumed that Beinecke 
Library holds copyright to their digitized images, but that may not be true.  
These are two-dimensional digital representations of an existing 
two-dimensional work that is clearly in the public domain.  As such they 
reproduce the public domain work as closely as possible, and there is 
unlikely to be any element of original creativity eligible for copyright 
protection.  This idea has been strongly supported in the case of Bridgeman 
Art Library v. Corel Corporation (see link below), by a U.S. court but with 
reference to both U.S. and U.K. copyright law.  Therefore, it appears to me 
very likely that the new sid images, along with earlier images, are in the 
public domain.  In this case you may freely do with them whatever you like.

Links:

http://www.panix.com/~squigle/rarin/corel2.html
http://www.law.cornell.edu/copyright/cases/36_FSupp2d_191.htm

Caveats:

1. I'm not a lawyer!  Make your own judgements.

2. I think we all recognize the effort and expense that Beinecke has exerted 
in making these images available, and we should have some respect for their 
wishes on these grounds alone.  At a bare minimum, an acknowledgement of 
their work is in order.  I have not found any claim of copyright to these 
images on the Beinecke Library's web pages.  Does anyone know what the 
library's current attitude towards use of these images is?  It may have 
changed since the Bridgeman case was decided in 1999.  Perhaps they would 
agree that they are in the public domain, and only request a reasonable 
attribution.

- Walter
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