[8885] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: JURIS - DOJ rejects TAP FOIA Request
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Miles R Fidelman)
Thu Dec 9 15:04:47 1993
Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1993 14:55:03 -0500 (EST)
From: Miles R Fidelman <fidelman@civicnet.org>
To: com-priv@psi.com
In-Reply-To: <01H6A0CSV7PU8WWSPM@LNS62.LNS.CORNELL.EDU>
On Thu, 9 Dec 1993, Selden E. Ball, Jr. wrote:
> >Now, I ask the readers here how many private sector publishers hire a
> >typesetting or printing firm and permitt the typesetter to own the
> >database created. None. So, what is going on here.
>
> Don't be too sure about that. My understanding is that the copyright
> office recently ruled that, unless the contract explicitly states otherwise,
> printers, not the original artists, own the copyrights to art that they
> have printed. Artwork may be a special case, I suppose, since
> printers frequently have to make corrections to their production
> methods to get good color reproduction. Nevertheless, this is a very
> scary precedent.
>
If true, this is an interesting precedent. In most fields, work
performed for hire (e.g. a consultant's report, custom software) is the
property of the customer - unless the contract explicity states otherwise.
Government contracts, particularly R&D contracts, will often explicitly
grant the contractor rights to products, technology, etc. developed under
contract - as a way to stimulate the private sector - but will usually
keep an unlimited right to use the work for government purposes.
Re. Westlaw - it would seem that both standard commercial practice, and
standard government practice, have been thrown out the window.
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