COPYRIGHTS and the WTS publications

MacHislopp

Hello everyone,

I was wondering about this part written in the
w. 15.02.2001 page 29 (box) :

“…Related to this, Christian should avoid putting onto, or downloading
from, electronic bulletin board material that is copyrighted (as are the
Society’s publications) and that is being copied without legal permission
from the owners .”

I thought that “WTS publications “ were to “publish the good news”
to everyone, or only in a certain form and manner as the WTS desire???
Can it be illegal to post on the “www” anything published by the WTS??

Comments and discussion welcome,

Agape J.C.MacHislopp

LDH

LOL they sure as hell don't want people downloading the 'Shepherd the Flock book.'

They are so full of shit their eyeballs are brown.

Apologies in advance to Simon, LOL.

uncle_onion

I could not undertstand this one either. I thought that we were suppose to be the WTs (when we were pucka dubs)? I thought that we were the organisation, all of us?

UO

MacHislopp

Hello uncle_onion

sorry to bother you...but
is it forbidden or not?
Is it only for the ...others?

Agape J.C.MacHislopp

NikL

Hi MacHislopp,
I raised the issue of copywright years ago when I was a faithful dub and they started to release videos. I couldn't understand why they were againsed someone copying them so everyone could see them. At the time they were expensive. They released them with a talk at the cong. complete with a warning NOT to copy them. I asked the elder who gave the talk why and he told me "because the society says so".
I venture that they wont be able to do much. If they make too big a fus it may get lots of attention and it would look really bad to the public.
Just my thoughts,
Nick
(of the copyright infringing class)

stephenw20

perhaps in a board room in Brooklyn , when items were being discussed, the idea of copying videos and magazines came up..

for the few if any that saw the GOOD of copying something to make sharing the good news FREE as stated.......
there were I am sure 12 others looking at these few saying...........
¢
$
$$$
$$$$$$

any questions?
is there a language this is not translated into?

Frenchy

I think the copyright thing for the videos is first and foremost a money thing.
If you copy to video tape (I can't see anyone copying the Insight Volumes) and give it to your study the study will not feel obligated to donate anything to the society reasoning that you have already paid for your copy.
As for the publications, well that's a control thing, expecially with the 'Flock' book. It's a matter of "we would prefer that no one who has not been properly conditioned be exposed to this information". As for articles in the WT and Awake, brochures, etc being published in totality on the web, well they don't want that stuff out here out of context where the articles can be analyzed critically. They want to have a publisher sitting next to you (just the two of you) telling you how wonderful this stuff really is and how it will change your life for the better.
Point: The information cannot stand on it's own merit. It must be augmented by emotional pleas and volumes of rhetoric and repetitious hammering in of the propaganda.

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

Simon

How about this:

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society holds the copyright for many quotes used on this site, therefore this information is posted under the provisions of international Copyright law, which allows for excerpts to be published, for the purpose of review and/or study, without first obtaining the express written consent of the copyright holder. According to the FAQ http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/faq.html at the U.S. Copyright Office http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/:

How much of someone else's work can I use without getting permission?
Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of specific number of words counts, a certain number of musical notes, or percentages of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances. See Circular 21 http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ21.pdf and FL102 http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/fls/fl102.htm.

The above mentioned FAQ is a simple language synopsis of relevant copyright law, in particular §107 of the US Code -- Title 17 - Copyrights; Chapter 1-- Subject Matter and Scope of Copyrights http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

Even quoting masses of their stuff only adds up to a tiny percentage because they have published so much. It does need to be done in the form of analysis and criticism though.

Frenchy

Thanks, Simon.

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

Gozz

Looking at that box on Page 29 of the Feb 15 2001 WT issue, the words "program" or "programs" are used some six times before the last six lines where the connection is drawn with WT literature. The preceeding argument was for computer programs, while the conclusion centered on the Society's (copyrighted) material. It was as if the law applying to the program/s applied to the materials. As Simon's post as shown, this is entirely false.

COPYRIGHTS and the WTS publications

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

-Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-

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