Copyright Issues

[Jay Moore]

On Tuesday 23 November 2004 10:57 am, Dan Strick wrote:

> (I suggest this thread be moved to the chat mailing list.)
>
> It is not clear that copyright law applies here.  I doubt that the concept
> of a cute demon is copyrightable.  In order to be a copyright violation,
> it might have to be obvious that the *only* way the vending machine daemon
> could have been composed was to intentionally copy a daemon image whose
> copyright is held by Kirk McKusick.  (This one does look an awful lot like
> some versions of the BSD daemon.)
>
> Trademark law might be more relevant.  Even though though the vending
> machine belongs to a marketplace not obviously connected to one in which
> Kirk McKusick uses his daemons as a trademark, the vending machine machine
> image does include a URL and I suppose one could at least argue that the
> vending machine usage damages the value McKusick's trademark by
> associating it with a product that protects a bunch of ... :-)
>
> A further complication is that Naughty International Limited is a European
> company and the alleged property rights violation occurred in Europe.
>
> These issues are a bit subtle.  If you really care about them, you should
> ask a lawyer who works with intellectual property rights law.
>
> Dan Strick

Poppycock, Dan... don't be a stick in the mud.  The issues aren't subtle at 
all. And why should the OP consult an attorney about it? It's not his 
TM/copyrighted work/IP... I think he did "the right thing" by posting it 
here; perhaps the owner will learn about it, and can make his own decision 
about if/how to pursue it.

Jay