Re: copyrighting of numbers

Thomas Workman <tworkman[_at_]erols.com> wrote:
>
> The MLS book is definitely protected by copyright, I would propose, in
> that it required originality to organize and present the information on
> each property displayed. I propose that it is more than a phone book,
> which is not copyrightable under Feist. That may all change soon, as
> there is legislation to allo w for the protection of databases, or
> collections of information. If that legislation passes, then phone
> books would again become protectable.

    You're assuming that the legislation is constitutional. In my opinion, and those of others, it almost certainly would not be. See Paul J. Heald, The Vices of Originality, 1991 Supreme Court Review 143, 168-75 (1991) (Congress cannot overrule Feist under the principle of Railway Executor's Ass'n v. Gibbons, 455 U.S. 457 (1985)). Peter Jaszi agrees, see Jaszi, Goodbye to all That . . ., 29 Vand. J. of Trans'l L. 595, 603-605 (1996). We've had this full argument on this list before, so I'll not repeat it. If you want my, side read the above articles. Dan Burk would be happy to rebut if you ask him.

    Paul J. Heald
    Professor of Law
    University of Georgia
    <heald[_at_]jd.lawsch.uga.edu> Received on Thu Apr 30 1998 - 12:57:32 GMT