[WikiEN-l] Copyright question ("compilation copyright")

[Guy Chapman aka JzG]

On Mon, 02 Apr 2007 09:34:03 -0600, Bryan Derksen
<bryan.derksen at shaw.ca> wrote:

>But if this list was compiled by Wikipedia editors (as JzG claimed when
>arguing that it's OR) then the _editors_ own the compilation copyright
>and are perfectly within their rights to release it under the GFDL.

No.  The list exists in the form of a series of judgments made by the
show's presenters, to categorise various cars in various places.  The
Cool Wall is the Top Gear "car coolness" chart, just as the 100
greatest people list is the author's own view and can't be reproduced
without violating his copyright.

The reason you have to watch shows is that they blank it at the start
of each series, cars move down or up sometimes, and they don't publish
the list on the website.  It's not that big a thing that they consider
it worth republishing, I think.

It's still the Top Gear Cool Wall, as arbitrarily decided by Top Gear
presenters on the Top Gear show.  I'd need a pretty compelling
argument that this was not covered by copyright, and I've yet to see
one.  Which is not to say none exists, I just have yet to see one.

Guy (JzG)
-- 
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:JzG