Adventures in Ethics and Science 2008-07-26

Appropriate use of sources.

The other day, Chad asked about the appropriate use of someone else's published data: There's a classic paper on the Quantum Zeno Effect that I discuss in Chapter 5 of the book. The paper does two tests of the effect, and presents the results in two bar graphs. They also provide the data in tabular form. ... If I copy the data from the table, and make my own version of the graph, am I obliged to contact them and ask permission to duplicate their results in my book? Chad's commenters were of the view (substantiated with credible linked sources) that data itself cannot be copyrighted under U.S. law. Therefore, Chad could use the data (citing its source, of course) to make his own graph without having to get permission from the authors. While not required, letting the original authors ...

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