RE: Re: Copyright of lists - Response to Mark Reinmiller

From: Raymond Dowd <rdowd[_at_]dunnington.com>
Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 11:40:01 -0500

In terms of protecting a set of data from being copied, I think that Adobe software will permit you to password-protect a PDF file and disable it from being able to print. That wouldn't be perfect protection, but it would make it a hassle to get around and would be a strong reminder to the purchaser that it is proprietary. I live in New York city and keep a bicycle on the street. I have a number of anti-theft protections, but none will get around a determined, sophisticated thief who really wants the bicycle. My strongest protection (aside from two locks, a chain holding the seat down and key-protected axles) is the black paint I splash all over the shiny metal parts.  

Like the black paint, too much protection will just annoy the purchaser and destroy the sale value of the underlying work. Like the locks, encryption will stop or slow almost everyone except the dedicated hacker.  

If a user will only be accessing, for example, one manufacturer at a time, one might make only the results of the database search visible. Like a search of the USPTO trademark database from the website (or the infamous Google book search). Although I can copy the results of a particular trademark search, I can't (to my knowledge) copy the database wholesale through my personal computer.

Raymond J. Dowd

Partner

Dunnington, Bartholow & Miller, LLP

477 Madison Avenue, 12th Floor

New York, NY 10022

Tel: (212) 682-8811

Fax: (212) 661-7769

rdowd[_at_]dunnington.com  

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