Development of Creative Commons licenses

[Rob Myers <robmyers AT mac.com>]

On 18 Mar 2005, at 22:36, drew Roberts wrote:

> These are not actual bits though, are they? Aren't they
> gates, resistors, diodes, etc? Are ROMs made from masks?

There is no such thing as an "actual bit". The examples you give are 
all mediums that can be used to encode bits.

A bit must always be encoded in some physical medium. Let's consider 
other forms of information. An image must exist as dye on celluloid or 
canvas or as light on glass or walls. A text must exist as ink on paper 
or casette, or embossed shapes.

Likewise a bit must exist as magnetic pulses on a hard disk, optically 
etched chemical traces on a slab of silicon, or electrical states in 
the chemicals on another slab of silicon.

> You may not be able to copyright a recipe for cake, that would be good 
> and if
> so, is good to know, ... but I just went and checked three cookbooks 
> and they
> all have copyright pages. So, if the recipes cannot be copyrighted, 
> what
> exactly is copyrighted in these books?

You cannot copyright an idea.
You can copyright the expression of an idea, an idea fixed in some form 
(e.g. writing).

The recipe is an idea. You can't copyright the recipe.
The particular recording and presentation of the recipe can be 
copyrighted. In particular you can copyright the typographic 
arrangement and the editorial content (your preamble to and discussion 
of the recipe).

- Rob.

--
http://www.robmyers.org/art -  All my art, Creative Commons Licensed.
http://www.robmyers.orgt/weblog - Free Culture and Generative Art blog.