[WikiEN-l] Application of the {{pd-art}} tag

[Matt Brown]

On 4/10/06, Andrew Gray <shimgray at gmail.com> wrote:
> Photocopying a page of a book is a slavish copy... but you can make a
> good case that photography of any book as an archival process, or with
> the intent of producing high-quality images, is a sufficiently
> difficult process that it passes the minimum-creativity standard.

Difficulty is immaterial.  There are many difficult things one can do
which are not copyrightable.

The point is that when making a photograph or scan of a 2D work, one
is attempting to accurately reproduce the original.  In other words,
one is seeking to have NO difference between the original and one's
copy; imperfections are flaws (acceptable or not).   All one's efforts
are attempting to get rid of any 'creative' differences.

Thus copyright does not apply.  The US does not recognise the concept
of 'mechanical copyright', although other nations do to varying
degrees.  Simply taking a copy of something does not generate new
copyright, no matter how hard the copying process.

-Matt