geni wrote:
On 11/17/06, zero 0000 nought_0000@yahoo.com wrote:
I have an actual situation as follows. Someone has taken an old map (long out of copyright), scanned it onto their computer, and now claims to hold copyright on the scan.
It seems to me this is a bluff. A computer scan should not be any different from a photocopy. There is no artistic input to the result, and in this case the scanner even advertises that the computer file is a precise reproduction of the original.
It depends what country you are in and what country they are in. Unless you are in the US or Switzerland the answer is that while it probably is bluff it could be an expensive one to call. If they are not in those two counties they are not refuring to you.
Assuming good faith on the part of the scanner, it is probably ignorance instead of a bluff. I doubt that he has taken the time to read this mailing list to glean our accumulated wiki-wisdom about copyright.
(re-sent) Ec