Creative Commons clarification

[Redrobes]

Thats interesting and you should know a lot about these kind of things too.

So what if I wrote a program that drew a black square about the size of an emoticon say - 16x16 pixels. Then it change top left pixel to slightly brighter - dark grey and saved that image out then a bit brighter and save. When white it moves to next pixel etc. So ok it would take a long time to fill a hard drive with the 16x16x256x256x256 images but its only 200 million and thats a program which produces every conceivable image inside a 16x16 pixel square. So I own everything future created which is a small image ?

This is a lot like the x number of letters domain names where every combination of letters up to about 5 now has been taken.

[Torq]

On a very theoretical level yes, but most copyright systems also have a requirement of originality. I dont think the results generated by that app would meet that requirement.

Also someone else could come to the same results completely independently of your program. If they did they wouldn't infringe because (and I am speaking with experience in only one legal system here) there are two aspects to copyright infringement of artistic works, firstly the infringing work must be objectively similar to the original work and secondly there must be subjective copying ie. the one must be the basis for the other. Thus is I come to the same result artistically without reference to the original work, I have not infringed.

Torq

[Redrobes]

Ok I see. On the flip side tho how is it possible that some people take obviously public domain works like these medieval bestiaries, scan them in with a flat bed scanner or take digi photos of ancient art and then copyright the photos when they publish to the web.

This one was the case in point.
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/bestiary.hti

Theres a link there to the copyright terms.