[HCDX]: DXing & Copyright

[Don Moore <mooredxer@xxxxxxxxx>]

In a logging in a recent DX report one of the details I included was
the station slogan which I heard. I have since been accused by another
DX of violating his copyright as I did not credit him in my logging.
He had heard and reported that slogan several days before my logging -
and he always posts/publishes his loggings with a copyright notice
attached. (For the record, yes I had read his logging. And, I heard
the slogan clear enough on my own to understand it without outside
help.)

I would simply ignore this, however, it is not the first time I have
been similarly accused by this person and I know of his making similar
accusations against other DXers. 

I am curious to read what others have to say about this - especially
anyone with real knowledge of the issue, such as any legal experts who
may be on the list. (Obviously, there are differences between
countries.)  My own limited background on copyright law comes from
some training I had, as a university teacher, of copyright as it
applies to academic research, and a discussion I had a few years ago
about this same individual with a lawyer/DXer.

For purpose of discussion, I have created the following two **FAKE**
loggings (I certainly hope I don't see these reprinted elsewhere as
real information!). 

   ECUADOR 5050 Radio Superior 0125-0230 pop music, ads, ID   
announcement "Desde Ambato, trasmite Radio Superior para    todo el
Ecuador", and new slogan as "Su Emisora Amiga".    (Dillon Hollister,
copyright, Jan 12)

   ECUADOR 5050 Radio Superior 0030-0105 pasillos, time    check with
ID, ad for "Banco del Occidente" and "Su    Emisora Amiga" slogan.
(Don Moore, Jan 22)

To my understanding, in the above example Dillon Hollister (a fake
name) can obviously copyright the text of his logging - it is a piece
of original writing that he has created. If anyone reprinted that
logging without his permission and credit they would be violating his
copyright, which he has clearly claimed. 

However, my reporting the same slogan which Dillon Hollister
originally reported in no way violates his copyright. It was not
created by him. If anyone has copyright on the slogan, it would be the
member of the station staff that created it. Likewise for the actual
station name (Radio Superior) if this were also a new station.

As I understand copyright, individual things which have not been
created by the DXer - station names, program names, city of location,
address, frequency, etc are general facts and can not be copyrighted
by the DXer making the report. On the other hand, collections of such
information can be copyrighted because they represent creative effort
in bringing together and organizing the information. For example, if
you typed up the Peru section of the WRTH and put it on your website,
you would be violating their copyright. But, if you post a logging of
Radio Satelite in Santa Cruz on 6725v, you haven't violated their
copyright just because that happens to be one of the stations on their
list. Likewise, if you post a list of Peruvian stations you have
logged or that were reported to a particular DX bulletin last year,
that also would not violate their copyright since this represents a
different creative effort in organizing the factual information.

My question here is only about copyright issues. As a matter of
courtesy, DXers should (and many do) thank others who have provided
significant helpful information which the DXer *has not been able to
get on his own*, e.g. "Thanks to Bill Kyle for providing the location
of this station". (Of course, even then there is a limit. One might
thank Bill for discovering the location of this station for a week or
two after he did it. But we wouldn't all still be doing it six months
or a year later --- although, I do remember a now-deceased DXer from
the 1980s who expected just that.)

Further comments and helpful information appreciated...

Don Moore   mooredxer@xxxxxxxxx








==
Don Moore     mooredxer@xxxxxxxxx
   or<patepluma@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
http://members.xoom.com/patepluma

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