In a message dated 3/10/2008 5:18:53 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, oldakquill(a)gmail.com writes: Aside from the issues of database and collative copyright, how copyrightable is an identifier of the form 74-82-8?>> --------------------- Facts are not copyrightable. Facts enjoy no copyright protection. That George Smith married Susan Brown is a fact no matter how many years some wank took to figure it out. Once they did, and published a 500 page book detailing all the work they endured to do it, and on the last page concluded "and so we now know that her maiden name was Brown..." it's now a fact and the copyright to that fact does not exist. That CAS has assigned a number to a chemical is a fact, and that number as a fact, enjoys no copyright. Copyright accrues to the artistic effort of the verbage contained within a work. The copyright is to the 500 page book and its contents, not to specific facts therein. Specific pieces of text, even if not facts, can always be cited and enjoy no exclusionary copyright protection on themselves individually. Will Johnson **************It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on AOL Money & Finance. (http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolprf00030000000001)