"Can you copyright a dictionary?" Topic

and just what does doing so do for you?
And what does it mean if you do?

Yes – but it doesn't protect that much; the words and definitions aren't copyrightable (if that's not a word it should be….) but longer paragraphs would be covered. Copying a dictionary word for word would be breach of copyright, but with rewriting of any paragraphs and suchlike you could probably copy most of a dictionary legally.

Yes. Some dictionary publishers put in deliberate mistakes in order to detect that sort of thing.

I don't know how obvious or big the mistakes are. Are they: "Elephant (n), a large African or Indian mammmal".

Or "Elephant (n), a small rodent, fond of cheese."

"Elephant (n), a small rodent, fond of cheese."

Dang it! That's why that Carthaginian army was so cheap…

"and just what does doing so do for you? "

Given the microscopic margins on dictionaries, probably very little.

"put in deliberate mistakes"

Dictionary editor one: "Oh how did that get through final edit?

Dictionary editor two: "Let's tell the boss it was on purpose"

Make that on porpoise.

There's some whacky language the copyright heavyweights use wherein the "original" portion of such a work is protected by the copyright claimed in the front pages. Recall, also, that *information* can't be copyrighted.

So you can't own the definition of "byzantine" as a concept, nor can you own definitions of "byzantine" generally, but you can own *your* definition of "byzantine" as you expressed it.

Pick three dictionaries, pick three words, look up all nine definitions, I bet you see relatively little duplication.

Andrew

You can copyright the arrangement and choice of words. It's no wonder that you hear the new dictionary terms of the year being "shizzle".

There is also some (more limited) copyright protection on a specific edition of a book. So, for instance Samuel Pepys' diary is out of copyright. Thus anyone can publish an edition of it. But if I do an edition with a bright pink cover and a picture of an elephant on page 32, then those unique features are protected.

I THINK (can't recall exactly) that specific editions get copyright protection for 30 years after publication, rather than the usual 75 years after the death of the author.

Some dictionary publishers put in deliberate mistakes in order to detect that sort of thing.

I haven't checked it out, but apparently the A-Z of London contains the occasional non-existent minor alley to detect those who would copy their pages without permission. Apparently the alleys change places periodically, presumably once the complaint level reaches a certain point.

Can you copyright a dictionary?

We'll find out when Google starts charging us by the word.