Forum Moderators: not2easy
Does it vary on a case by case basis? For example meanings and origins of names would be free domain since they are a matter of history/fact whereas dictionary definitions would be the property of the company that published it (eg websters).
Or am I way off?
For example, the meaning of the surnmae
Smith = A Blacksmith,
obviously that wouldn't be copyrighted.
But, if a website typed up their own elaborate 2 page history of the name Smith, and put it all into their own wording, then yes, this would be copyright protected. And, the copyright doesn't necessarily have to be documented. It is considered copyrighted from the moment the first person created the body of text.
As 4crests said, the way the data is written can be copyright.
Very short information, such as "Brighton is a town in Sussex" or "Wheelbarrow is dominoe slang for the 2-1 card" are not copyright. However, dictionary definitions may be, and to be safe one should paraphrase wherever possible.
So for example, where the OED defines paraphrase as:
"An expression in other words, usually fuller and clearer, of the sense of a written or spoken passage or text; a free rendering. Also, the use of these as a mode of literary treatment." this definition is clearly copyright, and you should not copy it but rewrite it perhaps (as an example) like:
"Paraphrase means to rewrite in your own words."
Matt
