Oldak Quill wrote:
The situation is confusing. If accessing these numbers using SciFinder is the problem (due to user agreements), there are alternative solutions. If claims that the numbers are copyrighted are legitimate, it may be a bigger problem. Aside from the issues of database and collative copyright, how copyrightable is an identifier of the form 74-82-8?
If 74-82-8 is a copyrighted number when did it become copyright. It's not enough to say that it assumes the copyright date of the latest edition of the directory, and repeatedly renews that if that specific number first appeared in 1977. The public needs to be able to determine when the copyright on that number will expire.
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