Comment Re:No Case Under US Law (Score 1) 378
Yes, it's a rather bizarre situation under the current law, in which the old English "sweat of the brow" doctrine has seemingly been extended, through a confusion between the labour expended in creating a work and the labour expended in generating the information that is ultimately included in that work.
In short if you're the "creator" of the information (eg. a TV station deciding when programmes air, or a transport operator deciding when trains will run) Australian law will let you claim copyright in works that embody that information (eg. the TV schedule, or the train timetable).
This actually may change even sooner, depending on the outcome of the IceTV case, currently awaiting judgment in the High Court.
In short if you're the "creator" of the information (eg. a TV station deciding when programmes air, or a transport operator deciding when trains will run) Australian law will let you claim copyright in works that embody that information (eg. the TV schedule, or the train timetable).
This actually may change even sooner, depending on the outcome of the IceTV case, currently awaiting judgment in the High Court.