View Single Post
  #63   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 03-01-2012, 18:33
Tristan Lall's Avatar
Tristan Lall Tristan Lall is offline
Registered User
FRC #0188 (Woburn Robotics)
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Rookie Year: 1999
Location: Toronto, ON
Posts: 2,484
Tristan Lall has a reputation beyond reputeTristan Lall has a reputation beyond reputeTristan Lall has a reputation beyond reputeTristan Lall has a reputation beyond reputeTristan Lall has a reputation beyond reputeTristan Lall has a reputation beyond reputeTristan Lall has a reputation beyond reputeTristan Lall has a reputation beyond reputeTristan Lall has a reputation beyond reputeTristan Lall has a reputation beyond reputeTristan Lall has a reputation beyond repute
Re: How do I get the encrypted competition manual?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dlavery View Post
There is no debate about it. Republishing a copyrighted work without the express permission of the copyright holder is illegal. Period.
That's very often true, but there are numerous exceptions—see fair use in 17 U.S.C. § 107, or as explained by the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. (Similar principles like fair dealing exist elsewhere.)

Is the proposed re-hosting fair use? The only way to know for sure is to sue, and have the court balance the merits of several factors. Equity and case law are inherently part of the process outlined in the statute, and they introduce uncertainty (and provoke debate among legal professionals).

And just to be clear, there are different grades of "illegal". Most copyright infringement is a civil matter, where the state won't get involved—only the copyright holder has standing to sue. Only some (usually egregious) cases are a criminal matter. Either way, it's probably a bad idea to tempt legal proceedings unless you're justifiably confident that you have a defence (like fair use).

Last edited by Tristan Lall : 03-01-2012 at 18:44. Reason: Moving reply to Andrew to a new post.
Reply With Quote