On Sun, 4 Apr 2004, Russ Hunt wrote:
> Maybe someone can help me understand something here.  I don't
> understand how copyright and legal issues get involved at all.
>
> > Anyway, as I understand it, if someone used part of one of my posts
> > outside of the list, then I could sue them in U.S. court.
>
> What would you sue them _for_?  I don't mean the category, I mean what
> redress would you be looking for?  (And I don't mean to ask only David
> here; this is just an example.)

One can't bring, let alone win, a copyright infringement suit unless one
can show harm of a monetary nature.  That is, either you have to have
published it in a salable manner, from which you derive, or expect to
derive, income, or you intend to publish it in such a manner (you do this
by registering the item with the copyright office, thereby showing intent;
while I have copyright on this right now (I am fixing it in a tangible
manner), if someone were publish a work of my collected list postings I
couldn't win a copyright infringement suit unless I had done the same,
or had registered my copyright, and then showed that this other person's
book was damaging sales of my book, or would damage sales when I get around
to publishing, thereby depriving me of "the fruits of my labors."

Plagiarism is not the same thing as copyright infringement.  There are no
laws on plagiarism, far as I know; it is largely an ethical, not legal,
question.  If I were to take someone else's posting on this list and post
it to another list as being mine, that would be plagiarism, highly
reprehensible, but likely not an infringement of copyright under the law.

>> Anyway, as I understand it, if someone used part of one of my posts
>> outside of the list, then I could sue them in U.S. court.

I don't think you could sue for copyright infringement unless you
registered the item with the copyright office (showing intent to publish in
a salable manner) and you could show that the other person damaged your
sales, or potential sales.  You would likely have to find some other
grounds to sue on.

Also, you can't sue for copyright infringement in the U.S. if the whatever
is published outside the U.S., in a country with which the U.S. has no
copyright agreement, and the material is not sold in the U.S.

Douglas Winship     [log in to unmask]