At 04:45 AM 3/18/02 +0000, Joao wrote:
The problem, I think, is that publishers make all kinds of unsuported claims. For example, from the Bibliomania.com FAQ:
What is the copyright status of texts on Bibliomania.com?
Most texts on our site are in the public domain. However Bibliomania.com Ltd has copyright in the HTML versions we have created for our web site. You are free to download these texts for personal use, but they may not be used for any commercial purpose, or republished in any form (including on the internet) without our prior email permission. Bibliomania.com Ltd has and will take legal action worldwide to protect its rights.
I'm not a lawyer (standard disclaimer), but it's possible that they do have a claim on the HTML code. Computer code is considered copyrightable, though algorithms aren't.
On the other hand, if you were to grab one of those files and strip the HTML off, you'd probably be in the clear. If I understand the matter, which I may not.