Is it Copyrighted or a Trade Secret When Using DRM?

rcpitt writes "In a discussion on the Digital Copyright (Canadian, but relevant world wide) list I subscribe to, we were discussing the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) treaty. In thinking about an article that I subsequently wrote I came up with this thought: If 'publishing' (in the context of when the copyright act takes effect for a work) were taken (by the courts for instance) to be defined only as that done without any rights management or extra contractual ties, then all works not so published would then become trade secrets (or something to that effect), and would lose (or never gain) the protection of the government via the copyright act and have to go after civil damages for individual transgressors. I'm interested in others' thoughts on this concept in light of Digital Rights Management, distribution of binary/source code (software), or music/video (multi-media) with an EULA that is restrictive might be construed as 'not publishing' in the context of whether the (insert your country) Copyright Act can be applied."

Comments

Words

[Apreche]

Law is all about words. It all depends on what the word publishing is defined as in the applicable laws. And like most here, IANAL, so I couldn't tell you. It is slightly interesting though.

DRM does not cancel "publishing"

[kalidasa]

If a book is only accessible to those who buy it from a store, is it published? Yes. Restrictions on use do not negate the reality of publication.

"publication" is not a requirement of copyright - not even a requirement of copyright registration. One can submit copyright registrations on unpublished works.

rosy DMCA picture

[brlewis]

Oh great. Nice to know that DMCA problems will be "sorted out" someday at great legal cost to some little-guy victim of the RIAA.

"Protect and preserve the rights of people who use copyrighted works"? Give me a break. You lose the ability to fast-forward ads in a DVD you buy. You lose the right to bring a DVD with you to another part of the world and play it on somebody else's DVD player. You lose the right to use free software to play your DVD. Just because it doesn't take away every one of our rights doesn't mean the DMCA can boast of protecting and preserving. It expands the power of copyright holders, period.