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Channel Z 5
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Channel Z - The A1200 Disk Magazine - Issue 5 (1994-05-01)(Channel Z)(AGA)(Disk 1 of 2).adf
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1992-09-02
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177 lines
Copyright, the Facts and the Myths
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Copyright is a strange old beast to talk about, mainly because not
many people are totally clued up about it. Whether you are copying
your record collection onto a couple of tapes to listen to them on
your Walkman, Photocopying a picture from a newspaper because it looks
nice or just re-writing a couple of paragraphs out of a book, it is
all covered by the Laws of Copyright.
The Law of Copyright has many loopholes that you can be caught up in.
For instance, you may be allowed to copy your record collection onto
a couple of tapes, but if you let your mate borrow these tapes you are
braking the Law. If you then decide to sell your record collection and
keep the tapes, you are still braking the law.
Lets leave the "records and tapes" side of things and take a look at
copyright and Public Domain, I think you will find the outcome quite
interesting.
Public Domain has long been recognised as a copyright free zone, what
I mean is that you are allowed to copy Public Domain (PD) and pass it
on to your mates, and your mates are allowed to copy your PD and pass
it on to their mates. The authors behind the programs want their disks
to be spread to as many other people as possible.
Take CHANNEL Z for instance, If you purchase CHANNEL Z from a Public
Domain Library, and your mate wants a copy, there is no law to say
you can not give him a copy. CHANNEL Z has been put into the Public
Domain Network so that you can pass it around and get as many people
as possible reading it.
However, Copyright DOES find its way into the world of PD all the time
and half of the time you wont even know that you have something that
is breaking the laws of Copyright.
If I told you of some PD titles that I have, which ones would you say
are copyrighted......
Bait Masking - An animation of a fish, designed by Eric Schwartz.
Giger Tetris - A Tetris game (As featured in the last Issue).
Erika AGA - A 256 colour slideshow of Erika from Baywatch.
Which of these (if any) are copyrighted ?
Its hard to say, isn't it.
Bait Masking isn't copyrighted as it is the work of Eric Schwartz, and
Eric is the one who put the disk in the PD Libraries.
Giger Tetris doesn't sound copyrighted, but IS. Firstly the Tetris
game is a very old Russian game (although I don't know who this would
be Copyrighted to !). Secondly the reference to Giger in the game is
the picture behind the game screen. It is a picture of a girl (called
Li) that was drawn by the man that designed the Alien films, Mr H.R
Giger.
So the picture is copywritten to him. If Mr. Giger wanted to, he could
ask for a percentage of all money received from sales of this disk.
Erika AGA definitely falls under the laws of copyright!
You are not allowed to publicize a picture of ANYBODY without their
written consent, and I don't think Erika will have consented to a
group of people digitizing her ample charms and stuffing them on a
disk! Also the disk contains Baywatch pictures! All TV Programs are
copywritten (your not even supposed to Video Coronation Street ! ! ! )
So you can see what a difficult Law it is to uphold.
One of the most overlooked aspects of copyright is in Music, if you
compose a tune with (eg) OctaMed, it is YOUR work and therefore, You are
the copyright holder. BUT, where did you get your samples from? The latest
2 Unlimited track perhaps? If you did, you are breaking the Copyright Law!
What it all boils down to is ANYTHING that YOU did not "invent" technically
falls under the law of copyright!
The only exeption is the majority of Public Domain that has been written
totally by the person who puts the disk into the Public Domain Library.
He (or she) has decided to let anybody who owns an Amiga copy their disk
and give it to their friends, thus dodging the copyright law.
If I sent Channel Z out with NO programs/Demos/Animations/Music on it,
it would be TOTALLY free of ALL laws! However just because I put a small
piece of music on the disks it means that I have to be careful not to
upset anybody, I have quite a few Exellent pieces of music, but they
either contain samples from well known groups or are taken from the latest
games! I have heard of a couple of PD libraries that have had disks taken
from them and have had to pay hefty fines just because they had the latest
(eg) Michael Jackson song on a couple of disks!
So next time you compose your latest masterpiece using those exellent samples
that your mate sent round that are taken from the No.1 single, think again!
If (although unlikely) the Group/Band that originally wrote the song here
your version, they are quite in their right to take you to court for
nicking their samples!
Or, if you draw an exellent picture, but use a bit that was digitized from
your favorite film, Your nicked!
What do you have to say about all this, is it right, is it wrong,
Do you think PD should carry some form of copyright protection,
Some actually does! You are not allowed to change the format of a program,
or even a Disk Magazine! If I saw this text in another mag, or on a
compilation disk, I would be very upset!
Anyway, now you know where you stand. I dont think you will fall into the
trap of Copyright.
Be carful out there.....
Darren