Re: Copyright of listserv posts

Carol Simpson <csimpson[_at_]tenet.edu> wrote:
>
> A discussion has arisen on a listserv about the list owners claim
> of copyright to all posts. The idea is that since the posts are
> immediately sent to a publicly accessible archives, the copyright
> in the post is transferred to the list owners. Others claim
> ownership of their own materials.

Interesting claim, but as Terry Carroll said in a response to another question today, where is the signed writing transferring ownership to the list owner?

The answer of course is that there isn't one, and thus the list owner is limited to the type of license that he can get through agreements made for example when joining the list. However, even there he is limited. In particular, he can't get either an exclusive assignment, nor an exclusive license without the signed writing. (see 17 USC 204(a)).

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Phoenix, Arizona                     bhayden[_at_]ieee.org
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