ELDRED

Edward Barrow writes (in reply to my message noting that only expression enjoys protection),

>> ... where does the outer protected expression, the work of creative
>> writers both fiction and non-fiction, end; and the inner,
>> non-protected, idea, knowledge or information expressed begin?

I don't see why you have a problem ascertaining this. As a nonfiction writer, I haven't had any, either as pertaining to material I consult in research or to my own writings.

>> It's a line along which practical jurists have long had difficulty
>> dissecting...

Can you cite an illustration or two of this point, a case or cases in which this difficulty has proved insurmountable?

>> Practically, the problem is not helped by the fact that it is
>> frequently, though not always, in the unprotected information or
>> idea that the economic value lies, and therefore where there is
>> pressure to find protection.

I don't understand what you're saying here. At least in the US, there is by definition no protectable value in information per se, and no one familiar with the law expects or assumes that there will be.

--DS Received on Mon Jan 27 2003 - 18:18:48 GMT