[ -- rgc.misc and rgc.politics ]

KidDon wrote:
"Ray Gordon" wrote:
Are there any REALLY strong players who want this to happen?

We've been over this before. The moves of the games (or positions),
even with mention of the players or the event, are not copyrightable.

see, e.g. http://www.ernietheattorney.net/erni...orting_ev.html

I don't think that's a very good reference as chess obviously isn't an
athletic sport.


Dave.

--
David Richerby Transparent Simple Wine (TM): it's
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ like a vintage Beaujolais but it has
no moving parts and you can see right
through it!

On 04 Mar 2004, David Richerby said:

I don't think that's a very good reference as chess obviously isn't
an athletic sport.

rec.games.go has been discussing this recently. Some of the links that
came out of that discussion we

http://www.bcmchess.co.uk/britbase/about.htm: British Chess Magazine:
``Legally the actual moves of any game as played are considered to
be in the public domain and not subject to any copyright laws.''

http://senseis.xmp.net/?KifuCopyrightDiscussion:
``Games cannot be subject to copyright; being a product of conflict
(however we like to think of Go as an amicable conversation, it's
at least a heated debate), neither player can lay claim to ownership;
neither can it be claimed to be jointly owned, since the sides worked
at cross purposes and not with the intent of creating the end product.''

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html:
``Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of
operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.''

I think an interpretation as ``The actual moves of a game are in the
public domain; once someone has added value such as commentary to a
game, though, the new product can be considered copyrighted'' is sane.

- Chris.
--
Chris Ball http://www.mrao.cam.ac.uk/~cjb/
Inference Group: http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/is/

On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 20:35:59 +0000, Chris Ball
wrote:

I think an interpretation as ``The actual moves of a game are in the
public domain; once someone has added value such as commentary to a
game, though, the new product can be considered copyrighted'' is sane.

I agree with that.

Replace you know what by j to email

"David Richerby" skrev i meddelandet
...
[ -- rgc.misc and rgc.politics ]

KidDon wrote:
"Ray Gordon" wrote:
Are there any REALLY strong players who want this to happen?

We've been over this before. The moves of the games (or positions),
even with mention of the players or the event, are not copyrightable.

see, e.g.
http://www.ernietheattorney.net/erni...orting_ev.html

I don't think that's a very good reference as chess obviously isn't an
athletic sport.


No, but the similarities are that facts are not copyrightable. Any
recordings, transcriptions, or commentaries are copyrightable. The fact that
something did happen is not.

Some persons might be present. They could move some chess pieces. Maybe it
was a sunny day?

If you prepare a report on that, the report is protected by your copyright.
The fact that something actually did occur, is not.


Bo Persson

"Jud McCranie" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 20:35:59 +0000, Chris Ball
wrote:

I think an interpretation as ``The actual moves of a game are in the
public domain; once someone has added value such as commentary to a
game, though, the new product can be considered copyrighted'' is sane.

I agree with that.

Replace you know what by j to email

Bizarre, though, that Rubinstein or Schlechter make not dollar one from the
printing of their games - but commentators do! Their comments are copyright!

On Thu, 4 Mar 2004 22:37:32 +0100, "Bo Persson" wrote:

No, but the similarities are that facts are not copyrightable. Any
recordings, transcriptions, or commentaries are copyrightable. The fact that
something did happen is not.

I think you're right. When sports events are broadcast in the US, the
legal statement given refers to the accounts and descriptions of the
game being copyrighted, not the game itself.

Replace you know what by j to email