Here is a quote from a company that sells books and gives advice on copyright materials. "Copyrightable material must be original and contain a minimal level of creativity. Generally, works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression are not eligible for copyright protection. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, titles, names, slogans, procedures, methods, concepts, principles, and discoveries, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. This is because copyright protects the form of expression and not the underlying idea or subject matter." I don't know, did it take a certain amount of creativity to produce the price list, and is it considered "intellectual property?" Wim -----Original Message----- From: Delwin D Fandrich <del at fandrichpiano.com> To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Sun, Mar 27, 2011 4:38 pm Subject: Re: [pianotech] Steinway parts list Well, there are lists and then there are lists. The following is taken from the U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Basics. Works that cannot be copyrighted include: • Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources) The information contained in Steinway’s parts list proprietary to Steinway, it was authored by Steinway, formatted by Steinway and published by Steinway. I would guess it is considered by Steinway to be confidential. In any case the information in it is not “common property” and it is not going to be found in “public documents or other common sources.” As may be, it was my impression that it was actually Steinway’s publication; it was not a reformatted or recompiled list of that information. I’d be real surprised if it was not covered by copyright law. As I said earlier, I have no idea what Steinway’s position might be in all of this. They may actually encourage its free distribution for all I know. My only point was, and is, that making their price list public is not a decision a few piano technicians have the right to make on their own. ddf Delwin D Fandrich Piano Design & Fabrication 6939 Foothill Court SW, Olympia, Washington 98512 USA Phone 360.515.0119 — Cell 360.388.6525 del at fandrichpiano.com — ddfandrich at gmail.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of David Boyce Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2011 7:12 AM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Steinway parts list Indeed. Copyright is not something that you have to DO. It is something that automatically IS. It is a right that exists as soon as you produce an original work. What would be copyright about a price list, however, is the TYPOGRAPHICAL ARRANGEMENT of the prices into a list. The information or fact that a particular part costs a particular price, is not copyright. There is no copyright in facts or ideas; only in original WORKS produced using skill and judgement. It is the same with the piano numbers books like Pierce, as we discussed on here a couple of years ago. It would break copyright law to scan and reproduce a page of Pierce. But it would not breach copyright to use the piano numbers listed in it, in some other context (however much the publishers might care to suggest otherwise!). The information that a given flange costs a given price, does not constitute a WORK. The typographical arrangement of prices for all parts into a list, does constitute a WORK. Therefore, copying and reproducing the list, or work, is a breach of copyright. Distributing the information IN the list, in some other form, is not. More pertinent here, though, is the aspect of business confidentiality and business relationships. End of pedantic rant. Best regards, David Boyce. It does not have to show specific copyright information. It is copyrighted material by virtue of its having been written. (See pg. 3 of the attached “Copyright Basics.”) Like it or not, Steinway’s price list is copyrighted and the copyright is owned by its creator or by the entity paying for its creation; in this case Steinway & Sons. To reproduce it or to distribute it without their permission is a violation of copyright law. Now, Steinway may or may not care if you distribute their document without checking with them first—I have no idea what their position might be—but that is their decision to make; not ours. ddf -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20110327/50d6ed39/attachment-0001.htm>
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