3 ms·
Patently (heh) false. Given that the Tweet is already attached to an identity (individual or corporate account) and assuming one may claim even a reasonable se
by bonsaitree 17y ago
Patently (heh) false.
Given that the Tweet is already attached to an identity (individual or corporate account) and assuming one may claim even a reasonable semblance of creativity and originality on the content of said Tweet, it's technically Copywritable, but a mere "status" update, link, or factual listing is not.
- Think of all the copywritten corporate and government slogans (Just Do It, Army of One, What can brown do for you, Aim Higher, etc.) which could quite easily fit into a Tweet with room to spare.
- Think of all the haikus (see @MJ), other short poems, and unicode/ascii-art #twitterart (see @l_I__I_l) posts.
That being said, I can't think of any rational (e.g. economic) reason which would support registration of the Tweet as the "fixed medium".
Mostly, I can envision defensive sorts of legal actions such as blatant plagiarism or abuse/mis-use of a pre-existing logo, unattributed passage, or slogan.
As the multitudes of "sampling" lawsuit precedents in the music industry has shown, authorship rights of even nano-sized digital content can be successfully asserted.
- lutorm 17y agoAre you saying "Just Do It" is copyrighted? Are you sure you don't mean trademarked? Because if "Just Do It" is a copyrightable work, then things are far more f...ed up than I thought. See, I committed prima facie infringement twice here. Hopefully I can argue fair use when I get sued, but I'm not sure I can affort the lawyer. You should worry, too, bonsaitree, as you infringed on at least 4 works in your post.
- bonsaitree 17y agoYou're absolutely correct regarding the trademark, but not infringement. In order for infringement to hold up, you'd have to get around the "fair use" defense. As this is 3rd party non-vested commentary on "news and current events" in a public forum, it's basically air-tight.
- lutorm 17y agoI know, I'm just pulling your leg... ;-)
- bonsaitree 17y ago;-)
- teilo 17y agoAnd you have made the very mistake he references in the article: Confusing copyright with trademark. Slogans are trademarks. Trademarks cost money to register. Copyright can simply be claimed.
- bonsaitree 17y agoGuilty as charged and absolutely correct.
- kes 17y agoI would also like to point out another example: @arjunbasu who writes micro-fiction.