Re: Reality of electronic copyright

Mark Perkins writes:
>
> I believe that the reality of [electronic copyright] is that it is
> impossible to use email/bulletin boards, etc effectively without
> breaking the law - its just that most copyright owners (ie. the
> posters) don't mind!

    I'm not sure that's really so.     

    In a lot of the situations where the copyright owners don't mind there's no copyright violation. This is so, I think, under the implied license doctrine that was discussed a while back on this list. When you send a letter to a newspaper editor, people assume -- based on common usage -- that you don't mind it being published; publishing it is therefore no violation. Same when you copy someone's message in responding to it, or forward it to other lists (unless the person has specifically said the contrary).

    My point, I guess, is that it's certainly *possible* to use email and bulletin boards without violating the copyright law. Perhaps copyright law is still overbroad. But email and bulletin boards aren't really evidence that it is.

• Eugene Volokh, UCLA Law <volokh[_at_]law.ucla.edu>