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Can FAQs Be Copyrighted?

Posted by timothy on from the obvious-answers dept.

scubacuda writes: "Are FAQs copywritable? Judge Barbara B. Crabb, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, in the case Mist-On Systems, Inc. v. Gilley's European Tan Spa, didn't think so."

2 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. A word to the editors by Bastian · · Score: 5, Insightful

    READ THE DAMN ARTICLE BEFORE YOU POST IT ON THE MAIN PAGE!

    This court case is so banal it doesn't even deserve mention. The plaintiff was suing the defendant on the grounds that it basically ripped off the idea of having a FAQ at all, which is about as asinine as having one publisher sue another for putting a synopsis on the back of a book. It wasn't even over whether one FAQ was a copy of the other - they didn't cover the same questions or use the same answers to those questions that were the same.

    What's next, Slashdot posting an article about a court ruling that it is indeed legal for everyone to write books about how to use computer software without paying royalties to O'Rielly?

  2. persecution complex, anyone? by SmittyTheBold · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You know, the /. crowd houses an alarming number of alarmists. I mean, it's good and all that people are ever-vigilant, yadda yadda, but areound here alert is raised just to be called off fully half the time.

    If the editors edited instead of simply relaying common memes, maybe this problem would go away. At least a little bit.

    --
    ± 29 dB