inaction.[1]Here, however, SBCCI expressly reserved its copyright in the codes. The district court found undisputed the fact that the materials Veeck received from SBCCI "contained the copyright expressions of the Defendant." Having concluded that SBCCI's codes are not in the public domain and that due process does not require suppression of SBCCI's copyright, I am convinced that the organization has done nothing to waive copyright protection expressly.
Copyright also may be waived implicitly by virtue of a particular act, even if the waiver was neither explicit nor intended result.[2] Veeck's argument in this regard is that by encouraging the towns to adopt the codes, SBCCI impliedly waived its copyright protection. This presupposes that waiver must be an "all or nothing" proposition, and thus cannot be implicit as to some parties, such as the adopting municipalities, without loosing its effectiveness altogether, even unto strangers like Veeck. Except for his bald assertion, however, Veeck presents no viable support for his waiver proposition. Moreover, when properly analyzed, his argument is nothing more than a thinly disguised
- ↑ See, e.g., Sherrod v. American Airlines, 132 F.3d 1112, 1119 n.5 (5th Cir. 1998).
- ↑ See, e.g., Norma Ribbon & Trimming, Inc. v. Little, 51 F.3d 45, 48 (5th Cir. 1995) ("Therefore, even if it be assumed that the ribbon flowers were copyrightable, the Littles through inadequate notice have made them part of the public domain, and Norma Ribbon was free to copy them.").
69
