Re: copyright story(long)

---------

Terry Carroll (carroll@tjc.com)
Fri, 16 May 1997 10:06:57 -0700 (PDT)


On Thu, 15 May 1997, Rev. Mama Lani wrote:

> Vince Cheng <vccheng@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca> gave us the whole story.
>
> Vince...bring out the charcoal. I say we can have ourselves a little
> barbeque.
>
> Go ahead and find yourself a lawyer willing to write a formal letter for
> you. Find out how much it will cost. Send us that information to the list
> and I'll put a check for ten bucks in the mail for you.
>
> [As a librarian, I can tell you that their idea about copyright is totally
> off their rocker. And seeing as Terry is a regular poster on this list, I
> think you've got yourself covered.]

Based on the long story, I think Vince should:

1. Crack open a brew;
2. Kick back and enjoy his victory;
3. Get on with his life.

They've removed his FAQ. There are no monetary damages worth seeking:
Vince's FAQ is not registered in the US (right?), so if he were to sue, he
couldn't get anything except his actual damages or the bike shops actual
profits from the infringement, which are nil.

Yeah, they're cracked about what copyright covers (the "copyright doesn't
cover facts" is a first line of defense by lawyers trying to dissuage
naive copyright owners, and their ideas about notice and registration are
completely out of line), but so what? They've removed the FAQ, and that's
the best you can hope for.

--
Terry Carroll       | "The invention provides means for continuously
Santa Clara, CA     | trapping sparrows and supplying a cat and 
carroll@tjc.com     | neighborhood cats with a supply of sparrows."
Modell delenda est  |                - U.S. Patent no. 4,150,505