SC - Copyright of Recipes

[Decker, Terry D.]

I haven't joined in this discussion, as all of the points I would normally
present have been brought up.  The new law about electronic copyright
offenses has not been mentioned, and may need be considered.

Last December 16, the No Electronic Theft (NET) Act was signed into law.

It is now a federal crime to distribute or possess unauthorized electronic
copies of copyrighted material valued at $1,000 or more, even when no profit
is involved.  The law does not contain fair-use exemptions.

This means that assembling a collection of recipes from the web and
publishing it without the permission of the authors of the recipes could
make the person who assembles the work guilty of a second felony, and one
more likely to attract the interest of federal authorities than a simple
copyright violation.

The new law also raises some questions about Stefan's Florilegium; however,
I think that because Stefan announces what he is doing on the mailing lists
he collects from, that an implicit permission exists.  Should he desire
explict permission, I would cheerful provide him with a notarized permission
to use my messages to the various mailing lists.

The NET Act is the latest piece of legislation to bring them dangerous
hackers to heel and the penalties are severe.  It is currently under attack
by professional groups in the computer and educational areas and may be
amended in the next session of Congress.

Bear  
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