Re: A Little Linguistic Playground

On Thu, 18 Mar 1999, Joseph P. Riolo <riolo[_at_]voicenet.com> wrote:
>
> On Wed, 17 Mar 1999, Thomas Workman <tworkman[_at_]erols.com> wrote:
> >
> > Folks are missing the point. The law does not permit a copyright to be
> > "vacated" or revoked. There is no statutory provision for doing so.
>
> That is not what the law says. Nowhere in the law says that I cannot
> put my work in the public domain.

That statement is true. But you still miss the point. The law specifies how a work obtains a copyright. When those conditions are met, the copyright attaches. Anything you do or say does not "override" the law, unless the law provides a specific mechanism for undoing what it has done. The statutes provide no mechanism for destroying the copyright, except for the passage of the requisite time, or of course a subsequent law.

I know of no cases on point, but I would not advise any client to use a work without a license from the copyright owner.

-- 
Thomas E. Workman Jr.
41 Harrison Street
Taunton, MA 02780

EMAIL: tworkman[_at_]erols.com
Phone: (508) 822-7777
Fax:   (508) 824-2820