Monday, October 24, 2005

CHARLTON MAGAZINES!?!









... i just seem to be in image-crunch mode this week, huh?

PS. In response to many questions and requests, my MAJOR criterion for what i post (after "coolness" factor), is who do, or more importantly, DON'T own it. i have NO desire to get stomped over this, OK? So, check it out, here's the deal.....
If a company went under WITHOUT transferring its' intellectual properties (selling the ownership rights to work done for hire for THAT company to ANOTHER LEGAL entity), after a certain amount of time it falls into the public domain (for stuff prior to the Bern Convention of '76 that is).
Some stuff WASN'T correctly copyrighted, so after 5 years....public domain.
Some was WILFULLY ABANDONED by the originator..(a LOT of old time radio, for example, was LITERALLY thrown in the trash) ....public domain.
Once in the public domain, it cannot be RE-copyrighted as is.

TRADEMARKS (that is say, CHARACTERS) are more like PATENTS, and as such are a whole other world of pain. So, no Question or Blue Beetle pdfs any time soon, as DC OWNS THE TRADEMARKS. AM I BEING CLEAR? The original stories might be in the public domain, but the trademark still holds water, so it's a BIG no-no. Sorry Roberto!

Lastly, i will point out that lawyers, litigation and other fun stuff like that COSTS MONEY, so if i feel that something is, shall we say, "iffy", then i will err on the side of caution rather than have some nasty legal letter in my inbox from some suit trying to justify his salary by "protecting" the "rights" of his employer and going after stuff like this. Think it couldn't happen??? Just ask the "nice" folks a Conde Naste where all the fan sites devoted to THE SH*D*W disappeared to....... see, i'm not even gonna type his full name....that's how scared i am about those knuckle-headed maniacs.....

Long story short...... i don't need no hassles over this, so i try and play it safe.... OK?

your pal,
the datajunkie


(...tap dancing on the thin ice once again.... do de doo.....)
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