ECU Tuning as per Down Under

[Lawrence Weeks]

Once upon a time (Thu Sep 12), Douglas Broussard wrote:
> On Thursday, September 12, 2002, at 04:13 PM, George Roffe wrote:

>> I would argue that they Nissan's code is public domain at this time.
>> In order to retain your copyright you must vigorously defend
>> your copyright.

> Respectfully, the belief that copyright must be defended by an author
> to remain intact is a myth. I don't know how this one got started,
> but I hear it a lot.

It started because it is true for trademarks, and people have
mistakenly applied that to copyright as well. In most people's minds,
copyright == trademark == patent, while legally they are all quite
different.

> In the U.S., copyright is granted to an author at the time of
> creation of original work. If I create a picture, a publishable work,
> or computer code to name some popular examples, I automatically
> have copyright for those works.

Note, that is an original *creative* work. Pure facts cannot be
copyrighted. The presentation of the facts, however, can be. So a
factual reference book can be copyrighted on presentation, but not
restrict the underlying facts which are being presented, even if
those facts are "original."

> Registration of the copyright with the Copyright Office is
> not required to retain copyright on original work...

It used to be. Since the US became a signatory to the Berne Convention
in the 70s, copyright is now granted upon creation.

> Modifying the code without Nissan's permission could be a violation,
> but that's a question for an attorney.

Or, rather, a court. It may be questionable as to whether pure machine
code is in fact copyrightable. The fact that courts have permitted
reverse engineering of software from the disassembly of machine code
points toward that. Higher level source code contains creativity, not
mere machine instructions, so it is accepted as copyrightable. Many
find that questionable though, and think that algorithms and such
should be subject to patent law, not copyright.

> Works like computer code can pass into the public domain after a
> set period of time (75 or 100 years).

Copyright has gotten ridiculous. Disney and the large corporations
are trying to get it extended in perpetuity. Disney's characters were
set to enter the public domain, but Congress, for the second time,
extended copyright after lobbying by Disney and others. This is likely
to get to the Supremes soon, as the Constitution explicitly limits
Congress' power by stating that copyright be granted for a "limited"
time. I know there is a case on its way.

Larry
--
Lawrence Weeks      "Audaces fortuna juvat."      dev@anabasis.net