Date: Sun, 21 May 2000 13:00:51 -0600 From: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> To: Anatoly Vorobey <mellon@pobox.com>, chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Why are people against GNU? WAS Re: 5.0 already? Message-ID: <4.3.1.2.20000521125607.041b0100@localhost> In-Reply-To: <20000521160901.A215@happy.checkpoint.com> References: <39270B29.D09AA59D@mail.ptd.net> <20000514010614.A16058@happy.checkpoint.com> <3.0.6.32.20000513180213.00894400@mail85.pair.com> <20000514023000.A16663@happy.checkpoint.com> <3.0.6.32.20000513192827.00895a10@mail85.pair.com> <20000514040731.B17455@happy.checkpoint.com> <391E27DD.320D4BBF@mail.ptd.net> <20000514024308.A57423@sasami.jurai.net> <392475F3.513EE781@mail.ptd.net> <20000520185544.A47143@happy.checkpoint.com> <39270B29.D09AA59D@mail.ptd.net>
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At 10:09 AM 5/21/2000, Anatoly Vorobey wrote: >This is correct. Perhaps you're missing the context. I originally >brought in the example of chess games, in order to show that the concept >of copyright as a *natural* property right (which the statute merely >codifies) is indefensible. The point being, as far as their "natural" >properties are concerned, the difference between a chess game and >a music composition is perhaps of a degree but not of a kind. The >statute clearly gives preferential treatment to kinds of intellectual >activity the society feels to be especially worth encouraging. The entire purpose of copyrights and patents is to encourage intellectual activity. And they work for that purpose. A chess game is an interesting case in some would say that the game was an improvisational performance, sort of like an improvisational dance. On the other hand, the moves in a chess game are also functional, and copyright specifically does NOT cover items that are functional. (Business forms, for example, can't be copyrighted unless they add something which could be considered creative, and then only the creative part cannot be copied.) Moves in a chess game ARE functional (the function being to beat the opponent), and some are even provably optimal. So, they might not be protected. --Brett Glass To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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