Does Anyone Know Who This Is?

[Jeff]

There's no need to get into trademarks etc as the content you're talking about isn't your name or logo, but rather the FAQ questions and answers that you wrote.

We're all benefiting from this discussion so we'll be following the outcomes and why or why not the strategies worked.

Are the FAQ questions/answers still under copyright or are they now considered "Public Domain". If they're in the latter aren't they free to use and can a DMCA request still be enforced? :dontknow:

 

[ashley_phil]

we were told by lawyers several years ago that descriptions of machines posted on a website was basically fair game and not able to be copy righted.

now FAQs and the like that refer specifically to your business may well be a different game, but by and large if you post text on the interwebs folks can lift and re-use it at will.

 

[Charlottend]

we were told by lawyers several years ago that descriptions of machines posted on a website was basically fair game and not able to be copy righted.

now FAQs and the like that refer specifically to your business may well be a different game, but by and large if you post text on the interwebs folks can lift and re-use it at will.

Without knowing the specifics of that particular advice I don't agree with your final conclusion. My guess is that the lawyer was referring to an attempt to copyright facts aka the machine is green, has a 3/4 hp motor, cuts up to 20", runs at 2000 rpm etc. In which case that's correct, that type of content is not copyrightable (although it doesn't mean people haven't tried (for example Topps and baseball card stats on trading cards).

That doesnt mean the mere act of posting something on the internet waves the copyright rights that you as the author are automatically granted when you created the work, in this case the FAQs. Doesn't mean people can't easily steal it an reuse it, which means it is then up to you to try and enforce your rights.

As far as something entering the public domain that generally has to do with how long the copyright has been in place, not whether something has been posted online.

 

[tri4sale]

Without knowing the specifics of that particular advice I don't agree with your final conclusion. My guess is that the lawyer was referring to an attempt to copyright facts aka the machine is green, has a 3/4 hp motor, cuts up to 20", runs at 2000 rpm etc. In which case that's correct, that type of content is not copyrightable (although it doesn't mean people haven't tried (for example Topps and baseball card stats on trading cards).

That doesnt mean the mere act of posting something on the internet waves the copyright rights that you as the author are automatically granted when you created the work, in this case the FAQs. Doesn't mean people can't easily steal it an reuse it, which means it is then up to you to try and enforce your rights.

As far as something entering the public domain that generally has to do with how long the copyright has been in place, not whether something has been posted online.

That's fairly correct. It's kinda like recipes. The actual recipe (1 hot dog, 1 hot dog bun, 1 ounce chile, 1 ounce slaw) is not copyrightable. The description of how to combine them together is (pull open the bun, slide the hot dog in till equal amounts hang over the bun, lather chile on top, and then top with slaw)

Just because I posted that online, I have not given up my copyright to the instructions. Now, you can take my ingredient list, and repost that, and take my description and change it and use it as your own. The tricky part is how much change you need to do to no longer be in violation of my copyright. That's the million dollar questions. As in, the lawyers from both sides will make a million dollars off you and the defendant if you try to challenge it

I'm no lawyer and this ain't no legal advise But that is how it was explained to me by a copyright attorney.

 

[ashley_phil]

never said i totally agreed with it. just said that is the conclusion a lawyer took a bunch of money to reach several years ago.