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- Xref: sparky rec.aviation:17577 rec.aviation.misc:1132
- Newsgroups: rec.aviation,rec.aviation.misc
- Path: sparky!uunet!psinntp!xymox!philf
- From: philf@xymox.palo-alto.ca.us (Phil Fernandez)
- Subject: Re: One of my "heard on the air" postings in IFR unattributed
- Message-ID: <1992Dec28.054358.27332@xymox.palo-alto.ca.us>
- Organization: Jade and Jett Incorporated
- References: <1992Dec24.003146.8745@xymox.palo-alto.ca.us> <1992Dec28.022413.2879@EE.Stanford.EDU>
- Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 05:43:58 GMT
- Lines: 59
-
- In article <1992Dec28.022413.2879@EE.Stanford.EDU> siegman@EE.Stanford.EDU (Anthony E. Siegman) writes:
- > Certainly don't want to start a flame war here, but let me ask:
- >given for example the kinds of strict legal restrictions that apply to
- >reproducing overhead cellular phone conversations and the like, is it
- >really all that valid to post something "heard on the air" to the net
- >in the first place?
-
- Well, all ATC conversations are, I think, a matter of "public record."
- That is, all are in fact recorded by the FAA, and are retained for at
- least a brief period. I believe that anyone can obtain such a
- recording under the Freedom of Information act. (Notice the "I
- believes" and "I thinks" here...I believe these to be facts, but would
- welcome correction if I have this wrong.)
-
- Also, ATC conversations take place on an open, "party-line"
- communication channel, which may be freely monitored by anyone owning
- a $19.95 receiver.
-
- I think this all suggests that it's "valid" to post transcripts of ATC
- communications. Note that 99.9% of the time (and 100% of the time in
- any such postings that I've done), no actual identities are ever
- included in these anecdotal transcripts. For example, I'll always use
- a made-up N-number.
-
- > To put this in another way, independent of the strict legalities of
- >the whole thing, if what's posted to the net is really originally
- >"heard on the air" and hence is "in the public domain" in a sense, and
- >if it's OK to reproduce that on the net, does the poster then really
- >acquire more rights in the words than the individual(s) who uttered
- >them in the first place?
-
- I personally would never claim to have rights to words spoken on an
- ATC channel. However, this is somewhat different from having rights
- to the whole of a written article that includes some quotes from an ATC
- communication. This is analogous to a newspaper, which doesn't have
- rights to the specific words of a Presidential speech, but definitely
- has rights to a story in which quotes are embedded.
-
- > Or, if you've reproduced someone else's words without _their_
- >permission, have you a valid complaint when someone else then
- >reproduces your (unauthorized) reproduction of their words without
- >_your_ permission?
-
- A typical "heard on the air" posting usually relates context and
- contains comments about the event. To the extent that I think I have
- any valid complaint, it would be that my posting, taken as a whole and
- re-printed verbatim, contains some "public domain" quotations plus a
- unique contribution that I've made by bringing it together and writing
- a little story in a way that may be understood and enjoyed by others.
-
- And finally, my usual disclaimer on this topic: I'm not really
- worried about my rights here. I am worried about the general issue of
- Usenet postings reappearing in other media without attribution. I
- personally am much less interested in issues of authorization.
-
- pmf
-
-
-
-