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Posted by: rs on 6/04/1998@22:13hrs:
In Reply to: Re: Post-a-Joke #47 posted by: DAN BLAINE on 6/04/1998@12:02hrs:
Interesting question, deep, from an old SPH...
Let's see: Five score and eight years ago a new nation, conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created more or less equal...
Is this plagiarism?
Let's see: My new oil painting of Mona Lisa with Lake Tahoe in the background, same smile, is this plagiarism?
You ask the really deep questions...
Let's see: Milton Berle, Mr. Tuesday Nite, steals a joke...
I never heard of a gag being the subject of a copyright, but James Thurber's stories, supposedly humorous, certainly were...
They say you own your own words; I don't know whose words the Nun's Story are, but I'm going to assume Corsale, clever as he is, conceived and crafted this; if he didn't, then maybe it's in the public domain; if he did and claims credit for it I guess he's got the rights, unless posing here w/o the copyright notice amounts to giving it away.
Now we're beginning to see why copyright, trademark and patent law, now called "IP" law, for Intellectual Property, which includes computer software and programs etched into chips, is a high paying specialty among specialties.
So, if it appears I don't have a clue as to the answer, you're catching on.
I'd use it and give the credit to the last guy whose name is on it; Parody and Satire are generally allowed without being considered infringements of the copyright holder. Also something called the fair use doctrine which allows reasonable quoting for comment or critcism, such as in reviews, etc.
Easiest thing to do when you need to quote extensively is to contact the permissions editor of the publisher, when dealing with published works, and ask permission. That's why you see all those "quoted/used by permission" notes at the beginning or ends of books.
I hope y'all feel enlightened now. I sure don't. I'm not even sure what D.B. wanted to use or alter, but have fun doing it... -rs