Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Re: Who owns the copyright to Busby's book?

["D. Blake" <dblake@bright.net>]

Hey Guys:
Take a look at Title 17 Chapter 1 of the U.S. Code.  Of particular relevance
are Sections 101, 105, and 107.
If  "Manned Submersibles"  was a commissioned work for the Hysrographer of
the Navy it was a "work made for hire".  So then, under the definitions of
Sec. 101 the U.S. Government was the legal author not R. Frank Busby.  It
certainly was written by Busby, but it was authored and published by the
U.S. Government.
Section 105 "Subject matter of copyright : U.S. Government works" of Title
17 flatly states,
"Copyright protection under this title is not for any work of the U.S.
Government."
This book is clearly public domain, and can be freely distributed.
Still not convinced?  Then read Section 107 "Limitations on exclusive rights
: Fair use".
No one as far as I know of here has mentioned anything about wanting to
profit from the book except maybe Phil.  It's to enlighten us, and spark our
imagination through education.  Not a commercial endeavor at all so
commercial rights do not apply.
This whole copyright bull crap reminds me of Gene Simmons the bass player
for KISS.
After years of using the term "axe" in reference to their beloved guitars by
musicians everywhere, Simmons takes out a copyright on the term "axe" and
forces everyone who uses the word to pay him royalties!  Jeez, talk about a
money-grubbing Jerk!
Did I mention I hate rich people?
Best regards,
Big Dave
-----Original Message-----
From: TeslaTony@aol.com <TeslaTony@aol.com>
To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org <personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
Date: Friday, September 15, 2000 1:10 AM
Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Re: Who owns the copyright to Busby's book?


>In a message dated 9/14/00 6:39:36 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
>72020.572@compuserve.com writes:
>
>> Hey, Guys:
>>          Some-one mentioned  ( in an earlier post ) that ' Busby's  book
was
>>  in the public domain' . . . which of Frank's books are being referred
to -
>>  ' Underwater Vehicle Directory' ( various vintages), or ' Manned
>>  Submersibles' ?? I'm not  aware that any of these are ' in the public
>>  domain' -  Frank had an on-going ( although sometimes erratic) contract
to
>>  produce the directories but Busby Associates Inc. retained all
commercial
>>  rights.  Frank's son, Andy, is heir to Busby Associates Inc.  and the
>>  estate assets include all intellectual rights.  The 'Busby'  directory
was
>>  produced after Frank's untimely death, by  two men who cut a deal with
the
>>  estate.
>>          I believe it would be prudent to check with the rightful owners
of
>>  the publishing rights before embarking  on a ' Submarine Napster'
project.
>>  It would be nice to see 'Manned Submersibles' available again, though.
It
>>  was ( and is) a real common-sense approach to building, certifying, and
>>  operating subs. Frank was one of the really great characters in a biz
full
>>  of 'characters' . . we had an inordinate amount of fun and not a few
>>  adventures together, over the years.   I miss him a lot
>>  Phil Nuytten
>>
>Good point, although I wonder if the fact that it has been out of print
since
>'79 and was published by the Navy (I'm not sure on either count, so correct
>me if I'm wrong) would have any effect on the copyright status.
>
>Anthony
>
>P.s.: How much of that material is outdated by now?