gnu-misc-discuss
[Top][All Lists]
Advanced

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Court overrules Copyright Act !!


From: rjack
Subject: Court overrules Copyright Act !!
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:34:48 -0400
User-agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.16 (Windows/20080708)

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today summarily
declared that 17 U.S.C. § 103(b) is null and void.

http://jmri.sourceforge.net/k/docket/cafc-pi-1/08-1001.pdf

Section 103 of the Copyright Act states:
§ 103. Subject matter of copyright: Compilations and derivative works.
(b) The copyright in a compilation or derivative work extends only to the
material contributed by the author of such work, as distinguished from the
preexisting material employed in the work, and does not imply any exclusive
right in the preexisting material. The copyright in such work is independent of,
and does not affect or enlarge the scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence
of, any copyright protection in the preexisting material.

The Federal Circuit declared it was overruling the provision that "The copyright
in such work is independent of, and does not affect or enlarge the scope,
duration, ownership, or subsistence of, any copyright protection in the
preexisting material."

The Court held that the originating authors of "open source computer program"
licenses control the exclusive rights of authors modifying the original works.

The Court held, "Moreover, the District Court did not address the other
restrictions of the license, such as the requirement that all modification from
the original be clearly shown with a new name and a separate page for any such
modification that shows how it differs from the original."

The Court flatly revoked the exclusive copyrights of modifying authors such as
the right to publicly display their modifications as enumerated in:
"17 U.S.C. § 106. Exclusive rights in copyrighted works.
Subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of copyright under this title has
the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:
(3) to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public
by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;"

Any author of an original open source licensed work now has the exclusive right
to require that the *former* exclusive right of the modifying author to
distribute his derivative modifications to the public be waived. Prior to
today's decision the right of distribution of a derivative work was a contractual matter between original and modifying authors -- today it became a new provision of copyright law.

Neither the Congress nor the Supreme Court have yet commented on the Federal
Circuit's bold overruling the Copyright Act's provisions.

Sincerely,
Rjack





reply via email to

[Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]