tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Apr 05 05:46:32 1994
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: List Digests for the UnNetworked
On Mon, 4 Apr 1994, Elias Israel wrote:
>
>
>
> >On Sat, 2 Apr 1994, Elias Israel wrote:
> >
> >> I think that the idea of writing a book that covered the collected
> >> Klingon wisdom from things like this list and HolQeD is a good one,
> >> but it would pretty much have to either come from Marc Okrand, or be
> >> blessed by him, and would pretty much have to be published by Simon
> >> and Schuster.
> >
> >Reasons?
>
> Well, I don't know this all for a certainty, of course, but it would
> be typical for an author/publisher contract to give the author right
> of first refusal on new works on the subject,
Correct, but that only applies to that author and that publisher for that
subject, not to all authors and all publishers for that subject.
> especially if the subject
> was likely to sell a large number of books, as Star Trek material often
> does. Also, the publisher is likely to defend their turf pretty
> aggressively, up to and including the use of legal action,
The only reasonable legal action I can think of would have to do with
treating the Okrand version of Klingon as Simon & Schuster intellectual
property, which would be massively difficult for them to defend -- given
the fact that Paramount owns the copyrights to TKD. Now, if Paramount
were to consider the Okrand version of Klingon as intellectual property
with strict enforcement of its usage in other publications,
then every posting to this mailing list which contains material in Klingon
would be illegal (assuming that the people posting have not acquired
individual permissions from Paramount). There is no legal difference
between publishing something on the net and publishing it on paper, after
all.
So I guess I need to hear better reasons why Okrand & S&S are the ones who
would have to be publishing any kind of review of this mailing list.
> Maybe I should have said it would be easiest for Okrand to write this
> book for Simon and Schuster, rather than have implied that it was a
> dead certainty.
If that's all you meant, then I agree. If Okrand is going to do it, with
any publisher, then that's great. If not, then the project seems to be up
for grabs.
Also, you're still talking about a *book* which incorporates material from
this mailing list. I was talking about an ongoing periodical which reviews
the useful material monthly (or whatever) as it comes over the wire. So,
back to my question: any good reasons why a group of interested people
couldn't just get together and do it?
-- Mark
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark P. Line Phone: +1-206-733-6040
Open Pathways Fax: +1-206-733-6040
P.O. Box F Email: [email protected]
Bellingham, WA 98227-0296
--------------------------------------------------------------------