Copyright Claimed on Telephone Tones 495
awful writes: "Two composers in Australia have copyrighted over 100,000,000,000 phone tone dialing sequences. They state in the article that they are lampooning copyright laws that protect big business rather than artists. Their website has more info and explains how they did it. You can check your number and make sure it hasn't been copyrighted by these guys. They have already recieved one offer of money - from a guy who wanted to purchase the copyright to his number so he could stop direct marketing firms from calling him." Somehow I don't think the inventors of DTMF envisioned this. Update: 10/04 14:11 GMT by M : There's a US mirror available.
Nice idea, but won't work (Score:5, Informative)
So, even if they have a phone number in their melody database, you don't infringe if you dial that number, because you created the melody independently.
Probably not enough original work here (Score:2, Informative)
Registering or claiming copyright protection and actually winning an infringement claim are two very different things.
Copyright (at least in the United States) only applies to ``original works of authorship,'' not ``[w]orks consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship.''
Perhaps the authors could receive protection for the entire compilation, but not for the telephone numbers taken individually.
Many Slashdot readers would do well to read the U.S. Copyright Office's Circular 1 [loc.gov], Copyright Basics, from which the above quotations were taken.
Re:I can see it already.... (Score:2, Informative)
" Magnus-Opus
You may be inadvertently performing one of the Magnus-Opus melody series each time you use your telecommunications device (telephone, mobile telephone, modem and other internet devices).
In order to ascertain if you are in breach of international copyright law you may enter any alpha-numeric sequence you may be using via your telecommunications device in our dialogue box below. This will compare your number with our melody database. If your number should match one of our compositions the melody and opus number will be displayed. You should then complete a licence agreement as soon as possible. "
Lol... this is too funny
Re:Copyright does not squash other independant wor (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Nice idea, but won't work (Score:0, Informative)
Also, the fact that the timings are different when you actually dial it won't help you either. Recording artists have sucessfully attacked people using the same sequences of notes (which is silly because it is fairly finite).
Re:Not what copyright was for. (Score:4, Informative)
"US Constitution, Article I, Section 8
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries"
Our forefathers felt so strongly about protecting scientific research and useful arts that they granted this right before the right to free speech. That took an amendment to institute.
I agree, however, this is not what copyright was intended for and I doubt this would hold up in court. Obtaining a copyright is easy. Protecting it is more difficult.
321-2333, not 312-2333 (Score:5, Informative)
3 2 1 2 3 3 3
Mary had a little lamb
2 2 2
Little lamb
3 8 8
Little lamb
3 2 1 2 3 3 3
Mary had a little lamb
3 2 2 3 2 1 1
Whose fleece was white as snow, and
3 2 1 2 3 3 3
Everywhere that Mary went
2 2 2
Mary went
3 8 8
Mary went
3 2 1 2 3 3 3
Everywhere that Mary went
3 2 2 3 2 1 8 1
Her lamb was sure to go-o-o
DH
"Fsck you dirty hippie!"
Re:Copyright does not squash other independant wor (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Nice idea, but won't work (Score:3, Informative)
recordings of songs arent copyrighted, its the sequence of notes that is being copyrighted. just like they copyrighted a sequence of notes (phone numbers)
Re:Copyright does not squash other independant wor (Score:5, Informative)
HOAX: Are they saying everything is copyrighted? (Score:2, Informative)
I entered characters.. they still said it was found and coprighted, but didn't display any notes in the score..
hmm
Re:Nice idea, but won't work (Score:2, Informative)
Please read up [stanford.edu] before more nonproductive moderating and posting.
Re:And pulse too... (Score:2, Informative)
The Supreme Court disagrees (Score:2, Informative)
"Notwithstanding a valid copyright, a subsequent compiler remains free
to use the facts contained in another's publication to aid in preparing
a competing work, so long as the competing work does not feature the
same selection and arrangement."
Why don't you see....? (Score:2, Informative)
You can query that number finding thingie with everything. It will always print that the number is licensed, even if you just enter some letters...
my 0.02
You can not copyright a phone book (Score:3, Informative)
The Supreme Court held in Feist [techlawjournal.com] that the white pages do not meet the burden of originality, and therefore cannot be protected by Copyright.
Paperwork for copyrights (Score:1, Informative)