Re: Picky .sig trend

In article <4eocdp$koc@news.informix.com>, hartman@informix.com (Robert Hartman) wrote: > In article <4em4s3$15a@cssun.mathcs.emory.edu>, > Cathy Kipp <ckipp@vth1.vth.colostate.edu> wrote: > :Many people seem to be writing: > :-> > :->========================================================================= > :->= ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. = > :->= This posting is copyright and may be used only for the purposes = (etc...) > :Does this .sig bug anyone else? Or am I missing the boat on this trend??? > : > :Regards, > : > :- Cathy > > I think that if you charge money to provide someone with an excerpt > from an article bearing this notice, you'd be in violation. But if > you're replying for free over Usenet, I don't think you have anything > to worry about. That's not a "commercial" use, and Usenet is not > generally considered a "commercial" environment. > > What's happening is that some people have been collecting archives of > technical newsgroups and then publishing them for profit or charging > money for download access. That violates the free exchange ethos of > Usenet and some folks want to discourage that. > > -r(obert H.) I'm not a copyright lawyer, but I think if value of ANY sort is gained from use of copyrighted material without permission it is a violation. An advertisement that generates income would probably qualify. There really is a simple solution to this. Ask the copyright holder's permission. If not given, don't use the material. I generally give permission with little hesitation, others may or may not do the same. Tim Foelker/ /tfoelker@efn.org Copyright 1996, All rights reserved.