Re: Re: Issaries publishing policy and the Whitewall wiki

From: donald_at_...
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 23:02:48 GMT

In message <d463nf+v1na_at_...> "Jeff Richard" writes:
>
>> I gather the problem isn't hassle *we* might cause
>> Issaries. As you say, we're not trying to make money
>> out of this. The problem is that Issaries have to be
>> seen to be protecting their copyrights, or under some
>> weird American law or other, they lose them.
>
>That's just a basic tenant of property law (and not just intellectual
>property) in the Anglo-American legal tradition (including the US, UK,
>Canada, Australia and so on - I don't know what the French or German
>legal systems require). You can't just let other people use your
>property without your permission, or one day you might find out that
>it isn't really yours.

No it isn't, under English law the rules vary depending on the type of property. The *only* property to which this applies is Trade Marks where using a trademark unchallenged, particularly an unregistered one, gives ownership. Copyrights can only be transferred by written assignment by the originator. Physical property is generally a case of possession unless the current or a previous possessor did not come by it lawfully. Real property (some interests in land) can be lost if someone else occupies it without a contract for more than twelve years.

Bear in mind that, although the US legal system is mostly based on the English one, intellectual property law has only developed since the US revolution so it has evolved differently. That's before you take into account variations in law between different US states.

-- 
Donald Oddy
http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/