In article <199403151429.AA16459@world.std.com>,
Daniel Zwillinger <zwilling@world.std.com> wrote:
>For each FAQ that we use in the book we will re-format the FAQ for the
>HTML standard, so that it may be directly acessed through Mosaic.
>This should be of use to the Internet community at large.
Sounds nice, doesn't it? It sounds as if the Internet's getting an
HTML version as payment for the right to publish the FAQs and make a
fast buck. But...
>2) will be copyrighted (with acknowledgments given to each FAQ writer)
> (We are only copyrighting OUR additions, corrections and
> reformatting. Each contribution will remain under
> its original copyright.)
So in fact the newer HTML versions will end up under the publisher's
copyright control. And what if they decide not to grant you or anyone
else the right to copy and update the HTML versions of the FAQs?
Then you're out of luck.
You could also face the problem of converting the version which you
still own to HTML, only to find that you must defend yourself in court
against a charge of plagiarization.
All in all, it seems to me that the only benefit the FAQ maintainer
gets is the marginal benefit of seeing his work in print. Whereas the
publishers get to effectively swipe the copyright of a whole heap of
documents. The Internet gets some HTML versions of FAQs, but no
guarantee that those documents will ever again be distributable or
updatable.
In short, it doesn't sound to me like a good deal.
Let's get one thing straight: Re-writing in HTML is hard work. I've
just finished re-writing all my FAQs in HTML myself. The publishers
deserve some reward for doing the work they propose. But to get
financial reward *and* the copyright on the documents? I think not.
mathew
-- I have a flawless philosophical and scientific model of reality. Unfortunately, it's actual size. We must never be dogmatic. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Will betray country for food. Annoy the censors -- mention Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka in your .signature.
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