🚀 go-pugleaf

chi@tybalt.caltech.edu (Curt Hagenlocher) writes:

}In article <66709@sgi.sgi.com> karsh@trifolium.sgi.com (Bruce Karsh) writes:
}>In article <58801@bbn.BBN.COM> pplacewa@bbn.com (Paul Placeway) writes:
}>>karsh@trifolium.esd.sgi.com (Bruce Karsh) writes:
}>
}>>On the other hand, "Look and Feel" is a recent, and not fully
}>>established concept. ...
}>
}>It's new for software, but it's been in effect for other areas for a long
}>time.  For instance, music copyrights.  Also, there is an analogue to
}>look and feel protection in publishing.  You are not allowed to steal
}>someone else's book by making simple changes to names, places, etc.  If
}>you write substantially the same book, even if not one name is the same,
}>you will infringe.

}If you copy, for instance, 1-2-3 by simply changing its name,
}giving it a new title screen, etc., you will also be clearly
}breaking the law.

}Your analogies are completely out of whack.  There is no
}look-and-feel protection in publishing.  Look at how many
}cheap Lord of the Rings clones there are in the fantasy
}market.  Many detective stories written by different
}authors have the same sort of grim-n-gritty look and feel.

YOur understanding of copyright law is completely out of whack.  Courts
*do* rule on whether one work looks "too much" like some other work all
the time.  Look at the George Harrison "My Sweet Lord"/"He's So Fine"
infringement case:  the songs are unquestionably different, they are
also unquestionably similar.  The court ruled, in this case, that they
were "too similar".  No earthshattering problems with any of this.
Copyrights are very funny, since they don't have carefully written [if
not over-stated] claims notices that come along with them [unlike
patents], and so ever moreso than with patents it can be very hard, and
very subtle [and leave VERY bitter feelings] to decide if something
infringes or not.  But to argue that because YOU don't understand how
the court's arbitrate such things implies that it cannot be done [and
is not being done] is silly.

  /Bernie\