I can't help but feeling like if we're just going to be talking about copyright, we've jumped the shark.

> > But the question whether infringement could occur is the simplest aspect to copyright law, at least in countries where copyright law derives from common law copyright.

> In contrast, in Civil Law countries "fair use" is not a defense: copyright law defines an enumerated set of exceptions to the exclusive right of reproduction (e.g. Directive 2001/29/EC (Infosec directive)). They are permissions rather than defenses. So singing in the shower is no infringement. Different folks, different strokes.

What is "common law copyright"? As has been pointed out in assorted comments here and on Groklaw, copyright apparently came into existence as a means of censorship - a "letters patent on printing". So no common law involvement afaik.

And "fair use" is not a defence in "Common Law countries" either - to the best of my knowledge. It's an American invention, and only exists in America. It also only applies afaik to Civil Law, not Criminal Law. In the UK at least, copyright violations can be criminal offences, and an appeal to fair use would be laughed out of court.

Cheers,
Wol