[WikiEN-l] CAS Discourages Using SciFinder to Help Curate Wikipedia

[WJhonson at aol.com]

In a message dated 3/8/2008 7:14:03 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  dg
erard at gmail.com writes:

The  claim is that "CAS numbers are copyright CAS/ACS who have the
legal right  to regulate their use - as above." >>


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You cannot copyright a fact.
That a certain chemical compound has a certain number (or whatever this  is), 
is a fact which cannot be copyright.  Same as a person's birthdate, or  the 
last ten mayors of New York.
 
Copyright covers your *artistic* work, not your factual work.  Which  is why 
full extracts of say, everyone who lived in Hoboken in 1880 aren't  copyright 
as tabular results.  It's only your artistic additions, such as  annotations, 
which can be copyright.  Not the raw extracts.
 
Will Johnson



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