[Wikipedia-l] Klingon

Wed Jun 9 22:06:44 UTC 2004

On 06/09/04 03:56, Ray Saintonge wrote:
> Imran Ghory wrote:

>> I think there's one simple way to end this arguement,
>> Paramount owns the copyright to the Klingon language, the words, the
>> grammar, everything.
>> Let me repeat, (it is claimed) Paramount owns the copyright to individual
>> klingon words.
>> i.e. we can't legally have a klingon wikipedia.

> The situation may not be as simple as that.  It opens up the question of 
> whether a language can be copyrighted at all.  I suspect that it may be 
> patentable in the same way that certain accounting and business 
> processes have been patented.  But that's a whole new kettle of fish.
> Have there been any court decisions anywhere about whether copyrights in 
> a langiuage can exist.

Furthermore, if someone did try to claim the use, down to individual words,
of a language as Intellectual Property, I'd get behind a project to create
a Wikipedia in the language *because* of such a dangerously ridiculous
and overbroadened concept of ownership.

- d.