[time-nuts] MIT RADIATION LABORATORY SERIES 1940-1945 (28 VOLS) on eBay

[Jim Lux]

On 7/13/11 8:02 AM, J. Forster wrote:
> That is apparently the case for the HC books.
>
> I'm not so sure about the CDs. A friend who is an IP attorney has told me
> that if you scan something, you cannot copyright the scan. You can
> copyright any new content you add.
>
>

And you could copyright the arrangement of the stuff on the CD (say, 
with indices or a top level directory).. The files on the CD itself, 
though, probably not.   So you couldn't make a bit for bit copy of the 
CD, but you could copy all the (non-copyright) files to your hard disk, 
then burn another CD...

Walnut Creek CD-ROM is, I believe, a poster child in the case law, 
although I can't remember if they were the plaintiff or defendant, or 
just how it all worked..

This assumes the radlab series is out of copyright, of course.. and 
that's not certain... they're not quite old enough to be sure (before 
1923, and nothing is copyright any more...)

If the book(s) are not "in print" any more...One might also be able to 
legally make a copy (or scan) of the hardcopy, if you can find it, if 
you are a library.. The RL series is probably legitimately in the "rare 
and hard-to-find" bucket that so many technical books fit in.  If you 
(or your library) does this kind of thing, they're probably in a 
position to make the call about it.  (e.g. one copy on eBay at $10k and 
30 copies scattered in libraries around the country probably qualifies 
for the exception... 30 copies on eBay and Amazon at $100 each probably 
does not)


(I've often wondered exactly what you have to do to be a "library" under 
that section of the copyright law..  probably there's no legal standard, 
short of hiring enough attorney horsepower to fight off the invaders who 
say you aren't)