10 Big Myths about Copyright Explained
Reviewed By Jeri Calcote
Templeton, Brad "10 Big Myths about Copyright Explained." Templetons.com (No date given): 38 pars. Online. Internet. Available at: http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html">www.templetons.com/brad/copymights.html
Brad Templeton, who is the former publisher at ClariNet Communications Corp., assembled the site. He says ClariNet was "the world's first ever ".com" company (by which I mean a business based on the internet rather than one like uu.net which sold connectivity itself) which was also the net's first and for a long time largest electronic newspaper." He also serves as chairman of the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, started a comedy news group, publishes science fiction, and is "still very active on the net." Because of his extensive publishing and Internet experience, he seems to be a reliable source. Since he published the article, he does have an interest in protecting copyright holders' rights. However, it is a commercial site that includes links to his other endeavors and otherwise expounds on his many achievements. He is biased. In fact, he states on the page, " It should be noted that the author, as publisher of an electronic newspaper on the net, makes his living by publishing copyrighted material in electronic form and has the associated biases." <br> This page does not have a posting date. Neither does the author's home page. He does have an e-mail link on his home page, but right underneath it is a warning not to send him any questions about copyright. He authorizes viewers to link to this article without his express permission and not to bother him with requests for permission. He states he will not grant it if asked. <br> No references to specific information are given, but links are provided to the relatively recent Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the U. S. Library of Congress copyright page. <br> The author lists the myths and then explains the facts (as he sees him) relating to that myth. No glaring errors were noted. The author does support the information with many examples to illustrate why the myths are false. The information has not been printed in paper form. <br> This seems to be a short informational article, but interested parties would be better served by reading actual government documents on United States copyright law.
Reviewed By Willie Braudaway
10 Big Myths about Copyright Explained: An attempt to answer common myths about copyright seen on the net and cover issues related to copyright and USENET/Internet publication by Brad Templeton at http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html is an essay about copyright myths and assumes the reader knows what copyright is (if not, he has a link to his "Brief introduction to copyright" which was written after "10 Big Myths").
Templeton was the owner and publisher at ClariNet Communications Corp., "the world's first ever '.com' company. ClariNet was the company that joined with the American Civil Liberties Union in Reno vs. UCLA and got the Supreme Court to declare the Communications Decency Act unconstitutional. Templeton is also Chairman of the Board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, whose purpose is to protect liberties and privacy in cyberspace. His expertise is based on life experience. As is stated on the page -- It should be noted that the author, as publisher of an electronic newspaper on the net, makes his living by publishing copyrighted material in electronic form and has the associated biases.
The 10 Big Myths: 1. If it doesn't have a copyright notice, it's not copyrighted. 2. If I don't charge for it, it's not a violation 3. If it's posted to Usenet it's in the public domain. 4. My posting was just fair use! 5. If you don't defend your copyright you lose it. - Somebody has that name copyrighted. 6. If I make up my own stories, but base them on another work, my new work belongs to me. 7. They can't get me, defendants in court have powerful rights. 8. Oh, so copyright violation isn't a crime or anything? 9. It doesn't hurt anybody - in fact, it's free advertising. 10. They e-mailed me a coy, so I can post it. 11. So I can't every reproduce anything? (This one was added because of the other 10.) Myth #6 appears to be the one that storytellers would be most interested in. The discussion of each myth is informal and informative with appropriate links for those who wish more information.
Templeton does not set himself up as the expert on all things copyright. He suggests using other resources or consulting a lawyer and strongly warns readers not email him for legal advice. Links to Terry Carroll's "Copyright FAQ", the Library of Congress copyright site, and the EFF's Law Primer are useful for more in-depth research.