On 4/10/06, Andrew Gray shimgray@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