Re: "Fixed form"

From: Bruce Hayden <bhayden[_at_]copatlaw.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 1995 07:11:43 -0700

>> Re RAM as "fixation"
>
>There's a difference between common sense and legal interpretation.
>There is US case law that views holding a document in RAM is embodiment,
>and the concerned federal agencies have that view. And it appears from
>postings like those from Jamie Wodetzki in Australia, that it's a view
>pretty much shared globally.
>
>So I'd say the question isn't whether we agree; the question is whether
>the view will or should be incorporated in the general revision of
>copyright law that's surely coming.
>- Mike Bradley

Changing this is alluring. It might take some of the pressure off of the copyright law as it tries to cover electronic media, especially the Information Superhighway.

However, this would not be a panacea. In many of the cases where RAM copies are a problem, such as transferring e-mail across the Internet, or reading an electronic document from disk, there is a good chance that other copies would be made as a matter of course.

Paging overflow pages to disk has been common practice for decades. Windows even tries to do it. Real operating systems actually succeed. Some of the Internet works by moving files from one machine to the next, where if a message needs 5 hops, you will ultimately have 6 copies. Finally, much of this can end of on tape or some similar medium through normal, scheduled, archival backups.

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The preceding was not a legal opinion. It was my personal opinion, and mine alone. It was not necessarily the opinion of my employer. The answers to legal questions are invariably highly dependent upon the precise facts involved. Thus, before making any reliance upon anything said here, you should consult with an appropriately skilled attorney.

Copyright 1995 by Bruce E. Hayden, All Rights Reserved. This work may be copied in whole or part, with proper attribution, as long as the copying is not for commercial gain.

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Bruce E. Hayden                               7604 Vail Valley Drive 
bhayden[_at_]acm.org                                  Austin, Texas 78749 
bhayden[_at_]copatlaw.com                                  (512) 892-7915

Received on Fri Mar 31 1995 - 13:11:03 GMT