Re: Is phpGrabComics legal?
Raul Miller wrote:
> On Sat, Jan 22, 2005 at 01:50:58PM +0000, Andres Baravalle wrote:
>> I suppose that it would mean excluding *all* the syndicated comics
>> (dilbert, calvin and hobbes etc.). They cover 2/3 of the comics.
>> They will not give me an explicit permission, but I'd like to know if
>> I'm doing anything wrong from a legal point of view.
>
> If you've asked some of the copyright holders if you're doing anything
> wrong, I think you can rely on them telling you if you are.
no, I haven't asked at the present time. my point is that sometimes the
copyright owner does not necessary know what is the legal framework.
> Lack of
> answer isn't any kind of blanket permission, but would show due dilligence
> (if the matter came up, later, and if you can prove that you asked).
>
> On the other hand, if anyone flames you, and they hold copyright on
> any web comic, it would probably be a good idea to make it trivial
> for your users to not view those comics.
I have no objections on that. At the present time disabling a module is
possible both by deleting the module or by adding a line in it to disable.
> As in: make this the default
> behavior of your system. And, while it will be possible for the users
> to reconfigure (or even rewrite) your code, if you leave a reference
> to the flames where someone undertaking that kind of change is likely
> to see it, they'll be able to make an informed choice about the issue
> (which puts a significant element of responsibility on their shoulders).
I have explicit autorisation only for a couple of modules, our of 230...
> On a more positive note, stuff posted on the web is intended to be
> viewed by a wide number of people, which means that copies can be made.
> And it's already been established in court (for VCRs) that it's legal
> to use recording equipment to allow people to view copyrighted material
> at a time convenient for them.
>
> I believe that as long as you're acting fairly that you'll not wind up
> in any trouble.
I will add a summary of the comments in a the faqs, in the copyright
page and will insert headlines referring to it in the first page of the
software and of its main site.
I'll try to make a release as soon as possible and than I'll start the
process of submission to debian.
thank you very much for all the comments,
Andres
____________
Andres Baravalle
http://www.baravalle.it
____________
Gli uomini d'azione sono poco pratici.
La stessa azione li allontana dalla loro meta.
Paco Ignacio Taibo I
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