[WikiEN-l] Plot Element Copyright

[Charlotte Webb]

On 9/18/08, Flameviper Velifang <theflameysnake at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Cliffs Notes has never been sued for copyright infringement (AFAIK) and
> they give a far more in-depth view than we do.

Word.

But I would like to know whether anything similar to CliffsNotes is
published in countries with stricter copyright law and "fair use"
doctrine per se. When dealing with contemporary (non-PD) novels I'd be
inclined to doubt it, but more information would be helpful (even if
we are comparing apples and oranges).

Don't get me wrong, as a private individual I privately laugh at
copyright in the privacy of my semi-private home. Most of the tapes
and CDs and DVDs in my living room have a hand-written label. My MP3
count is higher than my edit count. I have cover-less paperback books
which have likely been reported as "unsold and destroyed". I've
watched more feature-length films on YouTube than in the theater. I've
even got one of those macrovision-pwning double-deck VCRs.[1]

But that's all beside the point. Regardless of what I (and surely you
and everyone else here, this something everyone prefers not to talk
about) get away with in real-life I more importantly support the
project's goal of publishing free content.

Ideally neither the Foundation nor anybody else using said content
should have to worry about whether they can be prosecuted for
copyright infringement or whether the "fair use" applies or whether
such a defense even exists in their area. Many jurisdictions have
stricter laws and many actually enforce them. It's not about covering
your ass or Jimbo's, it's the children, somebody please think of...

If this makes us hypocrites, so be it, but I like to think of it as
backward compatibility for this and every other backward legal climate
(which will I suspect will continue warming long before it cools).

"Fair use" is a lot like foreign oil such I will favor any changes
which reduce our reliance on it. Drill at home, buy a camera, take
pictures of every person, place, and thing you see, as a large portion
of them will be considered "notable" eventually—only to be murdered,
burnt to the ground, or taken off the market soon after[1], so get it
while it lasts.

—C.W.

[1] I'm pretty sure they don't make 'em anymore, or at least they
don't sell them in the U.S., so if my apartment ever catches on fire,
fuck the lappy, forget the colt-1911 and the
bong-disguised-as-a-space-telescope. To hell with my fat little
balinese, she can find her own way out... I'm going back in for that
VCR. Which reminds me, I should probably get a photo of it now.