Re: A Little Linguistic Playground

On Tue, 23 Mar 1999, Jessica Litman <litman[_at_]mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> On 3/22/99, Rod Dixon <rod[_at_]cyberspaces.org> wrote:
> >
> > Yes. It's called a license. Also, remember that if the copyright owner
> > cares not, then neither does the law of copyright. Infringement may
> > occur automatically, but it's not self-executing.
>
> Actually, in one signficant respect, it is. Section 103(a) withholds
> copyright protection from any portion of a derivative work or
> compilation that uses copyright-protected material unlawfully.

Jessica,

If your point is that section 103(a) is self-executing, then I am unclear how so. Secton 103(a) qualifies the subject matter of copyright in a compilation, but if the copyright owner of the preexisting, subsisting material does nothing, that would seem to end the matter for practical purposes.

-- 

Rod Dixon
rod[_at_]cyberspaces.org
http://www.cyberspaces.org/
202-270-9422