Copyright

[Richard Jensen]

There is a similar situation in genealogy.  Person A visits a cemetery, records
the information on each headstone, and publishes this in book form.  Some time
later, person B doess the same thing.  Has person B somehow violated the
copyright on Person a's book?  No.  The information is in the public domain and
is not copyrightable.  What is copyrightable is the specific format in which the
data are presented and any comments that are included.  But the basic
information itself cannot be copyrighted.

Thus, if I prepare a checklist of species of Quercus native to eastern North
America, I can consult whatever sources I choose and publish a simple checklist
without having to worry about copyright infringement.  If my checklist (just the
names of the taxa) is identical to someone else's, that's simply a reflection of
the fact that there is agreement with respect to what species are present.

Dick J.

David J Patterson wrote:

> My understanding of copyright in respect of checklists is as Christian's,
> that the factual content of a checklist is not copyrighted.  However, the
> compilation of factual elements is unique and therefore can be covered by
> copyright.   But, if a compilation is broken into its factual elements and
> rebuilt in a different form - this should not cause alarm bells to ring
> (but the matter has never been tested in court - but the closest that we
> have seems to be the dispute between Feist Publications and the Rural
> telephone Service
> (http://www.law.cornell.edu/copyright/cases/499_US_340.htm - but note that
> in this case the original outcome was overturned on appeal).
>
> The issue of attribution is important, but the landscape has changed with
> the digital world.   Traditionally, taxonomic papers and revisions gave
> recognition to innovation both through the 'authority' information attached
> to new taxa and through reference to other papers.   Many electronic
> compilations of names give no indication of where one or more names were
> obtained from.   Such compilations create an attribution
> dead-end.  Therefore in the electronic world  the attribution trail
> currently ends with the person or persons who themselves provide no
> attribution information, which is probably the worst place for such a trail
> to end.
>
> A supplementary issue is the protectionism that often is expressed over
> compilations, and this impedes the sharing of factual content.
>
> The best solution is therefore to make all factual content freely
> available, and to try to promote a full attribution trail.
>
> David Patterson
>
> David J Patterson
>
> The Josephine Bay Paul Center in Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution
> Marine Biological Laboratory
> 7 MBL Street
> Woods Hole
> Massachusetts 02543
>
> Ph:   1 508 289 7260
> FAX: 1 508 457 4727
>
> http://jbpc.mbl.edu/patterson
> http://www.bio.usyd.edu.au/Protsvil/index.htm
> http://microscope.mbl.edu

--
Richard J. Jensen              | tel: 574-284-4674
Department of Biology      | fax: 574-284-4716
Saint Mary's College         | e-mail: rjensen at saintmarys.edu
Notre Dame, IN 46556    | http://www.saintmarys.edu/~rjensen