Re: "Thumbnails" of scanned pages from c

Tim Arnold-Moore writes (in response to Mary Laarsgard's posting concerning what we might call "title page shrinkwraps" in books):
>
> Which is interesting in the light of our discussion on shrink-wrap
> licences being applied to works other than software. Isn't that
> precisely what this verso is attempting to do? It attempts to
> impose conditions on the purchaser above those granted by the
> copyright law which, if the book is shrinkwrapped, are not brought
> to the attention of the purchaser at time of purchase.

     I simply reiterate the view that it shouldn't make any difference whether the conditions of the shrinkwrap license are brought to the attention of the purchaser. The copyright balances are drawn for the benefit of society as a whole. As to published works, we cannot allow a formal "contract" device to override the policies underlying the idea/expression distinction, the first-sale doctrine, fair use, and the many other limitations on copyright owners' rights. If we could, and assuming a similar device could be used for functional works (the subject matter of patent), both copyright and patent law would become mere matters of contract. Is that all Congress thought it was doing in debating the 1976 Act for 20 years?

Dennis S. Karjala
Professor of Law
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona 85287
602-965-4010
602-965-2427 (fax)
dennis.karjala[_at_]asu.edu Received on Fri Oct 20 1995 - 21:48:56 GMT