Re: Databases, creativity, and copyright -- what's missing is wrong?

On Sat, 03 Oct 1998, C. E. Petit <cepetit[_at_]usa.net> wrote:
>
> On 02.10.98, Albert Henderson <noblestation[_at_]compuserve.com> opined:
> >
> > Take, for instance, the publication of a membership directory
> > in database form aimed solely at promoting communications
> > among members. The list probably includes members' professional
> > addresses, fax numbers, telephone numbers, email, etc.
> >
> > Under the present law, a copy of that database can become a mailing
> > list "rented" to direct marketers at a very high profit. The members
> > are deluged with junk mail, spam, and annoying calls. The market
> > value to of the database to the members, who may also wish to
> > rent it under controlled conditions, is also diluted. "Renters"
> > of the copy receive dated information rather than the current
> > update and waste resources on many nixies. Ever
>
> This is, at best, a non sequitur. Copyright becomes an issue if,
> and only if, the association rents its membership list out to others
> without adequate contractual protection.

A member's copy of the database could be "misappropriated" by a party that had no contract with the organization.

Albert Henderson, Editor, PUBLISHING RESEARCH QUARTERLY <70244.1532[_at_]compuserve.com> Received on Mon Oct 05 1998 - 20:49:26 GMT