Re: Shrinkwrap Licenses - Reply re UCC2b

Mark Lemley mentions an article to be published by David Nimmer re what he terms "traditional" copyright. Appreciate information when released (on the Internet?). What if the "non-traditional" view discussed in this article requires that the copyright law currently in title 17 U.S.C. be amended? In any event, it is not clear whether the so-called non-traditional copyright isn't in fact a step backward both as a legal an technical matter. Also, would this result in a difference in application of the U.S. copyright law in each of the states of the U.S.? If so, wouldn't there be a substantial preemption issue? Also, what happens where a particular "non-traditional view" adopted under state contract law doesn't anticipate important development/trends in technology, but the federal statute and decisions construing it in fact do?

Appreciate Rod's reply from a computer science point of view. It has also been my understanding that there is no principled distinction in practice between program and so-called "data." The U.S. copyright law has proven flexible in this regard. I recall in this context the Copyright Office regulations re computerized typeface designs, as amended to reflect advances in computer program technology.

Regards,

Patrice Lyons
Law Offices of Patrice Lyons,
Washington, D.C. 20006
<plyons/0003432266[_at_]mcimail.com> Received on Fri Aug 28 1998 - 19:52:12 GMT