🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <rtdickerson.672959714@node_25d97> dickerson@vf.jsc.nasa.gov writes:
>The previous posting of a recycle EPS with a 
>COPYRIGHT message brings to mind a question that
>has been puzzling me.....
>
>IF the EPS file was based on a scanned recycle logo from 
>some copyrighted source...
>
>What portion is really the copyright of the submittor?
>
>I know that merely transfering a copyrighted item to
>another medium does not free it from the prior copyright.

I'm not a lawyer, and I haven't seen the EPS file that sparked the
question, but....

If the EPS file is simply a straight translation of the image into
Postscript, e.g. EPS that was produced by an automated scanner, then the
submitter should have no copyright on it.  If it was produced by a
programmer, but is just a bitmap description as might be produced by a
scanner, then the programmer probably can't claim copyright, either
(copyright requires the work to be "creative", not a simple translation).
However, if the program displays creativity then it may be possible to
copyright it; for instance, I believe the standard recycle logo has
symmetries, so a Postscript program that uses a loop to draw the replicated
piece in each of its orientations might be creative enough to be
copyrightable.  In all cases, the EPS program would probably be considered
a derived work of the original logo.

>2) IF the original recycle logo is a trademark and has been
>   placed into the public domain, can the submittor claim
>   any portion of the copyright?

Once something is in the public domain, anyone may do anything with it,
including slapping their own copyright on it!
--
Barry Margolin, Thinking Machines Corp.

barmar@think.com
{uunet,harvard}!think!barmar