[amsat-bb] Use of "veronica" beacons on wikipedia

Sat Nov 30 16:11:42 UTC 2019

Anything transmitted by an amateur station is open to be received and disclosed.  See 47 USC 605(a). 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 30, 2019, at 9:39 AM, Grant Hopper via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:
> 
> I'm not a Intellectual Property attorney, but in my area(s) of practice:
> business and corporate law, I have to understand what protections my
> clients can gain and the limits of those protections.
> The very basics of copyright include three requirements: that it be a work
> of authorship, that it must be an original work, and that it must be fixed
> in a tangible medium of expression.  If it lacks one of these three
> elements, there is no right of protection.
> 
> From my point of view, the beacon itself fails at least one, if not all
> three tests.  Failing one is enough
> 
> And if we want to look to musical copyright cases, it becomes even harder
> to fathom a copyright in a beacon since courts have held that rhythm and
> harmony (what a beacon would be to my ear) are not “original,”and thus in
> the public domain, while melody is often determined to be “original” and
> protected by copyright. But of course this requires that there be an actual
> composition and an author of that composition (and a performance by an
> artist.)  I'd consider a beacon to fail all those tests as well.
> 
> One can also look to terrestrial radio stations for more of an idea of why
> copyright isn't going to attach to a beacon transmission.  One has
> educational use rights to radio broadcasts (the songs are a different
> issue) but one has to attribute the performance to the performer.  If there
> is no human performer....
> 
> I've long considered the informational publications produced by the USPO to
> be really good sources of information for understanding the basics without
> having to wade through volumes of statutes, but they don't necessary do a
> good job of pulling it all together, or covering the nuanced bits that
> naturally are a part of law.  It reminds me of a joke about lawyer bills:
> How do you know when a lawyer's bill is going to be high? When you ask him
> a question and he starts his answer with "It depends...."
> 
> I think that Brennan would agree with most if not all my analysis, and with
> my ultimate conclusion as well.  Hopefully he will chime in officially and
> put the question to rest by stating whether or not AMSAT can and wants to
> claim copyright because it obtained a copyright from an author of the
> beacon....
> 
> 73,
> Grant Hopper
> KB7WSD
> 
>> On Fri, Nov 29, 2019 at 10:22 PM Jean Marc Momple via AMSAT-BB <
>> amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Roy,
>> 
>> This is an interesting subject which triggers some questions:
>> 
>> Is telemetry or beacon of satellites subject to copyright?
>> 
>> As far as I know none have a copyright warning, more many records and TLM
>> are circulated openly on many sites or forums.
>> 
>> Any lawyer in the community who may advise?
>> 
>> Regards
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Jean Marc
>> 
>>> On Nov 29, 2019, at 2:56 AM, Michelle Thompson via AMSAT-BB <
>> amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I’m in favor. I cannot think of a reason why it shouldn’t be on Wikipedia
>>> and in wiki commons.
>>> 
>>> I will ask the rest of the board today.
>>> 
>>> -Michelle W5NYV
>>> 
>>> On Thu, Nov 28, 2019 at 08:20 Roy Dean via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> I recorded some very high quality beacons for AO-95, and was hoping to
>>>> put them in wiki commons for inclusion on the AO-95 wikipedia page.
>>>> However before doing so you are warned about copyrighted material and
>>>> I realize that uploading that recording is likely no different than
>>>> uploading anybody else's musical or spoken word work.
>>>> 
>>>> I also took a screen grab of the waterfall showing the characteristic
>>>> "fox tail", which I believe is free and clear - and I checked the
>>>> AMSAT website regarding copyrighted material and it only mentions
>>>> audio used on the AMSAT website (I think).
>>>> 
>>>> Anyhoo, can I get written permission to post beacon recordings to wiki
>>>> commons (wikipedia)?   Do I need to go through the website form (it
>>>> doesn't really to "work" for recorded audio, only images) If not, no
>>>> biggie.
>>>> 
>>>> Happy Thanksgiving, all!
>>>> 
>>>> --Roy
>>>> K3RLD
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> expressed
>>>> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
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>>> --
>>> -Michelle W5NYV
>>> 
>>> "Potestatem obscuri lateris nescis."
>>> _______________________________________________
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>> 
>> _______________________________________________
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>> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
>> expressed
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> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb