Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

cc-licenses - Re: license question

cc-licenses AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Development of Creative Commons licenses

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Rob Myers <robmyers AT mac.com>
  • To: Discussion on the Creative Commons license drafts <cc-licenses AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: license question
  • Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2004 16:44:28 +0000


On Tuesday, November 30, 2004, at 09:54PM, Bryan L. Fordham
<bfordham AT socialistsushi.com> wrote:

>I'm getting ready to put the first stage of a project of mine online.
>Basically it's an American version of http://www.theyworkforyou.com/
>
>So far I have senate voting records, with more to come online shortly.
>
>I want to make the source code and database available. I considered CC for
>the database, but do I even need to bother with that? The information is
>public domain, I assume, since it's just public record stuff. Perhaps I
>should just put the database in the public domain as well?

In theory you can't copyright mere collections of facts in databases in the
US :

http://www.ivanhoffman.com/database.html

This page gives examples of successfully coppyrighted databases (post
'Feist') :

http://www.copyright.gov/reports/dbase.html

but notes:

"Among works that are particularly vulnerable to a finding of
uncopyrightability are comprehensive factual databases covering an entire
universe of information, where the element of "selection" is lacking and the
"arrangement" is obvious. The very comprehensiveness and ease of use of such
a database may account both for its commercial value and its lack of
protection under copyright."

So the copyrightability of your DB depends on whether and how you've selected
the data, and how unusually you're structuring it. If you can copyright the
DB you can license it, otherwise it's public domain anyway.

I am not a lawyer, this is certainly not legal advice. :-)

- Rob.




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page