[at-l] Databook mileages...

[rrubin@atconf.org (Robert Rubin)]

Okay, I checked on this.

Once ATC publishes the DB, the mileages do not become "copyright-free." The
actual measurements are facts and not controlled by copyright. Others are
free to measure them themselves. But ATC's compilation of those figures
(the points we choose to measure, the particular information we supply,
etc.), when taken as a whole, is copyrighted. Like any copyrighted
material, the copyright holder has the right to grant "permission" for
others to use the copyrighted info. That's what happened here. WF got
permission to use the info.

Why? Although the "business" side of ATC's publishing is designed to raise
funds for Conference activities, another part of ATC's mission is providing
accurate information about the Trail. That includes factual information
about mileages. WF did indeed request, and was granted, permission to use
official mileage figures from the Data Book, which were supplied when the
book went to press--at a point when orders for that book were already in
and sales would not be hurt by releasing timely info to others. In that
case, despite the fact that WF's Handbook competes directly with the ALDHA
Companion and other ATC publications, we thought it more important that
hikers have accurate figures in whatever resource they choose to use.

In short, the feeling was that it was more important to try to prevent a
hiker from getting into a bad situation by relying on flawed data than it
was to hoard the Data Book info, though we probably had the legal right to
do so (not being a copyright lawyer, I can't be definitive about this).

If other publications express a need for the official information, they
should contact ATC for permission. Brian King, the director of public
affairs, is the guy who handles all that.

Robert the ATC Editor

At 11:59 PM -0400 4/1/01, richard mann wrote:
>Robert the ATC Editor wrote:
>
>> I frankly don't know whether WF or anyone else has permission for early
>> (pre-publication) access of the data, as it's not something I deal
>directly
>> with. I think not, but will find out.
>
>WF wrote:
>
>"The Handbook (both northbound and southbound editions) has complete mileage
>figures for the entire Trail (same as the Data Book mileages, which were
>supplied by ATC and used by permission..."
>
>The URL to WFs post:
>
>http://www.trailplace.com/cgi-bin/miva?archive_index.mv+control=display&msid
>=id87743
>
>pittsburgh
>
>
>
>
>
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