Bhante Sujato,

I also thought of the issue of the original rights of some works belonging
to the Sangha. A Bhikkhu is required, if I am not mistaken to renounce his
worldly goods when he enters the order. I questioned Bhk. Bodhi about this
and he was of the opinion that intellectual rights were not forsaken. I
didn't press the issue. I suspect that in a court of law (at least here in
the US) such an idea would prevail. I also suspect that the bad blood caused
by bringing such a suit would not be very good kamma.

I also responded to your previous discussion of this, but although I did
manage to join the board, my post did not make it. I wonder what I did this
time!

I pointed out that the facts concerning copyright here have not been stated
correctly. Australia is a member of the Bern Convention and therefore has
the same copyright laws as the US and England. That means copyright is based
on the date of death of an author or authors. And the term is 75 years not
70...it was extended.

Take Care;
and may your life be long and happy!
Michael Olds

-----Original Message-----
From: Bhante Sujato [mailto:sujato@...]
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 3:00 PM
To: Pali@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Pali] Re: PTS dic --public domain? & Skt materials




Dear Rett


Thanks for your perspective. It does perhaps seem a little over-
scrupulous, especially given that the copyright holders (editors)
would never have anticipated monetary rewards from the work. As an
interesting reflection, i wonder whether it would be possible to
assert the copyright of the original owners - the Bhikkhusangha?

Nevertheless, we do want to be on firm ground here, so i'd still
like to hear if anyone has any other suggestions on the matter.


in dhamma

Bhante Sujato

>
> Personally I would not have any scruples about publishing such
> material as long as it was distributed for free. I feel that any

book

> that is out-of-print is open for fair-use copying, regardless of

what

> copyright law may have to say about it. I realize this may not be
> safe enough for a Bhikkhu who wishes to be absolutely scrupulous,

but

> it's a stand I've taken based on common sense and my idea of

what's

> right.

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