Copyright and latin descriptions

[Doug Yanega]

Kent Perkins wrote:

>Copyright law is often misunderstood.  There have been some changes in the
>US law in the last few months, but i believe the following is still true.
>
>>From the U.S. Gov't. Copyright Office
>http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/faq.html#q44

I'd used a similar site before (I believe it was at Cornell, and had a
complete copy of the copyright laws - the netscape copy that had my
bookmark was recently destroyed), and it was very educational (and
immensely helpful at the time) - anyone in the US who writes for media
*other* than journals, or does illustration or photography for publication,
really ought to examine the US copyright laws, as it's not all simple and
intuitive.
        I also recall things as you cited: a *name* may be trademarked, but
not copyrighted. [For example, "listserv" is a trademarked program name,
equivalent to "macjordomo", etc., and the people who created it have
recently been getting bent out of shape about its increasingly colloquial
use, which seems odd to me - I don't think Xerox, Kleenex, Q-tips, Saran
Wrap, and other trademarked names entering colloquial usage has been
perceived as a bad thing by their owners.]
        I'd be curious if you can find out what the recent changes are, and
if there's a site that discusses them, as it'd be good to stay up-to-date.

Peace,

Doug Yanega    Depto. de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas,
Univ. Fed. de Minas Gerais, Cx.P. 486, 30.161-970 Belo Horizonte, MG   BRAZIL
phone: 31-499-2579, fax: 31-499-2567  (from U.S., prefix 011-55)
                  http://www.icb.ufmg.br/~dyanega/
  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82