* Florian Weimer ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) [031004 10:53]: > Andreas Barth wrote: > > > Online distribution of copyrighted works is known since 1995 (in the > > > legal sense, at least that's the year that is mentioned in all such > > > discussions).
> > Sorry, but that's not totally true. There was substantial distribution > > via modem networks before (e.g. Fido). IMHO this is equivalent to > > distribution over internet. > Software was distributed over the Internet before 1995, of course. But > I was just paraphrasing the interpretation among the legal community; > the year 1995 is their landmark year, not mine. The cited court decision was about redistribution of newspaper photos via a CD-ROM, and it was a lawsuit between a photographer and a newspaper. The photographer wanted extra money for that. He suceeded, because the digital distribution of the photos was something total different of the printed distribution, and was not expectable before 1995 - and, what is more important, only the rights are transfered that are really necessary for the contract.[1] Furthermore, the expected audience between the two mediums differes too much. I doubt that the reasons are the same at distribution of software. Software was almost since the beginning distributed by digital transfer. So, it was expectable in 1995 that some software was to be distributed this way. Futhermore, the highest german civil court (BGH) decided also in 2002 that are publication of music on CDs is allowed if the music was created in the 70s (1 ZR 16/00, [2]; 1 ZR 180/00 [3]). This is likely to be much more transferable to software. Links (in German): [1] http://www.kunstrecht.de/news/2002/02urh04.htm [2] http://juris.bundesgerichtshof.de/cgi-bin/rechtsprechung/document.py?Gericht=bgh&Art=en&sid=e23374d2fc02a6d51d1328a28ba4f77b&Seite=1&anz=181&pos=43&nr=25075 [3] http://juris.bundesgerichtshof.de/cgi-bin/rechtsprechung/document.py?Gericht=bgh&Art=en&sid=e23374d2fc02a6d51d1328a28ba4f77b&Seite=1&anz=181&pos=44&nr=25074 > > > are inherently untransferable. > > except by Last Will. > Or by agreements among the heirs. But only to a heir, and only at dividing the heritage. Cheers, Andi -- http://home.arcor.de/andreas-barth/ PGP 1024/89FB5CE5 DC F1 85 6D A6 45 9C 0F 3B BE F1 D0 C5 D1 D9 0C
