False Copyright Claims

FreetoCopy writes "Teenagers downloading music may not be the worst copyright offenders. See this item (available for download in PDF file with free registration) about the growing problem of copyfraud — in which publishers, archives, and distributors make false claims of copyright to shut down free expression. From the paper: 'Copyfraud is everywhere. False copyright notices appear on modern reprints of Shakespeare's plays, Beethoven's piano scores, greeting card versions of Monet's Water Lilies, and even the US Constitution. Archives claim blanket copyright in everything in their collections. Vendors of microfilmed versions of historical newspapers assert copyright ownership. These false copyright claims, which are often accompanied by threatened litigation for reproducing a work without the owner's permission, result in users seeking licenses and paying fees to reproduce works that are free for everyone to use...'"

Comments

Hey!

[niceone]

That summary is copyright (c) Me 2007 - take it down now, or I'm sending the lawyers round!

I fell for copyfraud on the US Constitution

[Anonymous Coward]

I paid money to the family of King John of England after they claimed it was work derived from something called the "Magna Carta." I think I may have been rooked.

Re:No, you cannot have Fair Use. Not Yours.

[Eudial]

Oh yeah? I've patented the process of rebuttal wars in matters pertaining to copyright claims!

Re:No, you cannot have Fair Use. Not Yours.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sadly for you I copyrighted the vowel in 1999. I count well over 40 offenses in your previous post. Expect a letter from my lawyer.