RE: OCLC's New License for Bibliographic Records

[Sandy Thatcher <sgt3@psu.edu>]

It depends on how non-obvious the arrangement (which can be 
copyrighted) of the factual information is. The 1991 Feist ruling 
by the Supreme Court certainly raised the bar for claiming 
copyright in certain kinds of databases.

Sandy Thatcher
Penn State University Press


>In addition (and apologies for asking an elementary question), 
>but are bibliographic records considered factual information, 
>the kind of information that is not subject to copyright?  In 
>other words, say I create a bib record at my institution. 
>Before I submit it to OCLC, do I own the copyright for that bib 
>record, or is it in the public domain?
>
>--Rebecca
>
>Rebecca Kemp
>Serials Coordinator Librarian
>W.M. Randall Library
>UNC Wilmington