Jay Honeck wrote:

Clearly Jay has documented (here) that he developed the list. He
has the copyright regardless of any registration.


Actually, YOU guys developed the list. I just compiled it into a usable
format.

For crying out loud, guys -- it's for all of us to use. I wouldn't think of
copyrighting it any more than I would copyright the "Rogue's Gallery."

Some horses are really just gifts, gentlemen. Don't look 'em in the mouth.

Well, as long as we're armchair lawyering here, I may as well get in on
the act. My understanding of copyright law is this: a collection of
facts cannot be copyrighted. The presentation can. Therefore, knowing
that Bob Smith's phone number is 555-1234, and Jim Johnson's is
555-4321, is not copyrightable. However, if you were to put those two
into a directory, the presentation is copyrightable.

The existence and locations of these museums are data. That isn't
copyrightable. Jay put them into a list form and published it. That
format is copyright 2004 by Jay Honeck. He doesn't need to do anything
about it, doesn't need to register it, nothing; it's copyrighted merely
by fact that he wrote it (the presentation). There's nothing to stop
somebody else from using his list as reference material and coming up
with his own list, as long as he doesn't come too close to Jay's
copyrighted presentation, but the presentation must be his own.

As the copyright holder, Jay holds the rights to that presentation. He
can publish it freely, with permission for all to read, republish, and
sell, or he can say that it may only be reproduced with the appropriate
payment of royalties, and then only on 100% linen, acid-free paper with
a weight of at least 28lb and maximum dimensions of 4.25" x 6.75", using
only Waterman Florida Blue ink. Clearly, he's opted to go for something
closer to the former, because that's the great kinda guy that he is. As
the copyright holder, that's his right.

He could, as the copyright holder, explicitly put it into the public
domain; he would be relinquishing his copyright (on the presentation,
remember; the data don't belong to him), and nobody else would be able
to copyright it later (because it's public domain). There's no reason
for him to do so, or not to do so; clearly, he's willing to be friendly
and helpful about it, and putting it in the public domain would not give
the rest of us any benefits. It really doesn't matter here.

It goes without saying, of course, that I Am Not A Lawyer; I do,
however, occasionally watch one on TV. This legal advice is given free
of charge, and is worth exactly what you paid for it.

Copyright 2004 by David C. Buckles :-)

--Dave Buckles

http://www.flight-instruction.com