The author of a program with the following statement enclosed died:
(c) 1997, Name of Author; (http://school.edu/~author/WWWProgram) free
use by educational institutions is permitted, as long as
notice is maintained.
Can I leagally distribute the program or a modified version of it free
to educational institutions if the statement is kept intact?
Hi sliderule
"Can I leagally distribute the program or a modified version of it
free to educational institutions if the statement is kept
intact?"
Briefly, probably yes, but as a courtesy it would be best to try and
contact the new owner of the website to ask. Keep hard copies of all
correspondence and you should be fine. You have a number of points in
your favor:
1. The Fair Use law clearly covers distributing material for
educational purposes versus copying the material for commercial
profit..
2. The current website (not a cached version) still states, "free use
by educational institutions is permitted, as long as notice
is maintained."
3. All material on the internet is ed (whether it says so or
not) but you can only be sued if the is registered.
>>> 1. FAIR USE: The law [see (1)]:
Chapter 1: An Overview of : II.I. Fair Use:
"Probably one of the most misunderstood concepts in law is
fair use. This is a doctrine that provides a defense to
infringement for some acts. But determination of whether or not
something is a fair use is fact-intensive. No particular act is
automatically fair use, and all four factors listed in Section 107
must be considered:
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use
of a ed work, including such use by reproduction in copies or
phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for
purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching
(including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or
research, is not an infringement of . In determining whether
the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the
factors to be considered shall include?
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such
use is of a commercial nature or is for *nonprofit educational
purposes*;
(2) the nature of the ed work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation
to the ed work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of
the ed work."
http://digital-law-online.info/lpdi1.0/treatise13.html
for Computer Authors: Fair Use:
"...This doctrine is especially liberal where the use advances public
interests such as education or scholarship..."
http://www.piercelaw.edu/tfield/copysof.htm
>>> 2. Contacting the Owner
The death of the original owner doesn't erase the . If the
material was registered, the would've been part of the
estate and passed to the heirs. If the material wasn't registered,
then it becomes the property of the new owner of the website. You can
find out who is the current owner by doing a WhoIs search.
WhoIs search:
http://www.whois.net/
If you are unable to make any contact with the website owner, you
could include a statement similar to the following:
"This site contains ed material the use of which has not
always been specifically authorized by the owner. We believe
this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such ed material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Law. In accordance
with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0507-02.htm
>>> 3. Registered s
All material on the internet is ed, whether there is a
statement or not. However, in order to sue for infringement
of , the must be registered with the Library of
Congress.
and the Internet:
"Even if no notice appears, the material is ed
since it was published on the Internet after 1989. the year when
notice was no longer required."
"You may not copy material from a Web site onto your site without
permission. You may provide a link, however."
"You may copy if permission is expressly granted on the web site from
which you are taking the information."
http://www.pnc.edu/cd//internet.html
What is a registered ?
" is granted automatically, but you must register the
with the Library of Congress to be able to sue if someone
infringes your . The registration process is inexpensive and
may be done at any time up to 3 months after the infringement has
occurred. If you register prior to infringement you are able to sue
for additional damages and attorneys fees."
http://www.ucop.edu/ott/crbasics.html
>>> Additional Links of Interest:
What is ?
" is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution
and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a
tangible medium of expression. covers both published and
unpublished works."
"When is my work protected?
Your work is under protection the moment it is created and
fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or
with the aid of a machine or device."
http://www..gov/help/faq/faq-general.html
Laws and the Internet:
"Works put on the Internet are considered ?published? and therefore
qualify for protection. A work put on the Internet is not
considered public domain simply because it was posted on the Internet
and free for anyone to download and copy. You need permission from the
site owner to publish any materials, including photographs, music, and
artwork from the site."
http://www.legal-database.com/-laws-internet-law.htm
10 Big Myths about explained:
"For example, in the USA, almost everything created privately and
originally after April 1, 1989 is ed and protected whether it
has a notice or not. The default you should assume for other people's
works is that they are ed and may not be copied unless you
know otherwise."
"Postings to the net are not granted to the public domain, and don't
grant you any permission to do further copying except perhaps the sort
of copying the poster might have expected in the ordinary flow of the
net."
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
on the Internet Quiz:
http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/Workshops/copyquiz.html
I hope I've been able to sort this out for you. If you have any
questions, please post a clarification request before closing/rating
my answer and I'll be happy to reply. Please read the "Important
Disclaimer" at the bottom of this page, advising that Google answers
are provided for general information an are not intended to be a
substitute for legal advice.
Thank you,
hummer
I have researched many issues and was able to access my own
documents to answer your question.
Hello Hummer,
Thank you for your helpful reply. Can you tell me the easiest way to
find out if the program was registered?
Also, the website was at an educational institution. When the
professor died, they simply removed his site. So I supposed it would
be up to me to contact his former department about this?
sliderule
Sorry, I forgot to include this link in my last post -
Search for information:
Registrations of books, music, films, sound recordings, maps,
software, photos, art, and multimedia. Also includes all renewals.
http://www..gov/records/cohm.html
Yes, contacting his former department would be the thing to do. It
might take a while to actually get connected to the person who knows
about it, but somebody should. With alittle luck, the same secretary
will still be there (secretaries are a wealth of information!).
hummer
Very promt and useful answer.
Hi sliderule,
If I understand you, a current version of the website doesn't exist?
You have a copy of the program from an old website? Does the
institution use the program?
hummer
Thank you, sliderule, I'm happy you are happy. Sincerely, hummer
 I could use some help again...
 Lost Licences |
Copyright of software after death of author