Kite Lines - Vol.3 No. 1 - KiteLife

the EditorThe mixed blessings of modern technologyare nowhere better illustrated than in theubiquitous photocopiers scattered throughbusiness offices, schools, postal stations,libraries and shopping centers across ourland . How did we ever get along withoutXerox ® and its competitors to transferinformation both trivial and weighty withincredible speed, economy and convenience?The copier is Everyman's printer .Can anything be said against these newmachines? Yes, something can . They makecopyright infringement as easy as applepie-but not necessarily as American .Where does the individual stand nowafter the recent overhaul of the copyrightlaw? I've read through updates from theCopyright Office . Long debate surroundedthe law's drafting and still much remainsto be resolved . The whole matrix of copyrightstandards and experience will continueto evolve . The thing is shod inTeflon® ; copyright may never rest again .Meantime, we have guidelines-generalprinciples lacing through reports from theU .S . Senate, the House and CONTU (theNational Commission on New TechnologicalUse of Copyrighted Works) .One of the guiding doctrines is called"fair use ." It limits exclusive rights to acopyrighted work, depending on purposeof use, -nature of the work, amount andsubstantiality of portion used and theeffect of the use upon the potential marketfor or value of the work (italics added) .As publisher of a special-interest journal,I find the last factor quite important . Ofcourse, "fair use" allows for brief quotationsfor criticism, comment, news reporting,teaching, scholarship and research .But for further uses the lines draw inmore closely . An example is made of suchspecialized publications as newsletters,which a House report singled out as "particularlyvulnerable to mass photocopying[which] may have a significant impact onthe commercial market for the work ."Libraries, with their copiers, mayallow patrons "isolated single spontaneous"copy privileges as "fair use ." Butlibraries or research centers infringe ifthey copy systematically or for commercialadvantage . The interlibrary loanmenace is carefully circumscribed and itseems that anyone could stumble intoerror if he or she subscribed or purchaseda copy of needed material and by photocopyingmade it available to readers whocould otherwise represent multiple subscriptionsor purchases .Considering the implications of thelaws and guidelines, one concludes thatany case of deliberate copying to avoidsubscription or purchase might be construed,in the case of a specialized publication,as substantial impairment of itsmarket . Could that violate "fair use"?The committees don't spell out everything .But the law does make violators liablefor infringement penalties up to as muchas $50,000 . "Innocent infringement"would be penalized less but not condoned .What has all this to do with kiting andKite Lines? Only that if a buyer of KiteLines copies pages, even though in ignoranceof the law and motivated by desireto help a friend, the result could be lessincome for Kite Lines . While any oneinstance may be relatively minor, it is thecumulative effect of many such instancesthat matters . If someone is interestedenough to want copied portions of thejournal in any substantial amount, he orshe should be willing to pay the reasonableprice .With a limited-interest magazine, wecan grow only to the limits of the interest .We don't yet know where that end willbe . But we feel that those who love thesport will want to nurture its journal,recognizing their interdependence . Wewould not withhold from you the right toshare Kite Lines as you see fit . But weencourage a sensitivity to those smallresponsibilities which have effect only asthey accumulate and which result in thelong-term viability of the magazine itself .Giving credit where credit is due is anothervirtue we'd like to encourage . Toooften, great kite designs are repeated,enjoyed and embellished upon while thename of the original inventor is lost . KiteLines tries to be meticulous in this respect,but even here we have fallen short . I believeit's time and I propose that conscientiouskiters reattach the name of theoriginator to each kite for which it'sappropriate and in this way commemoratekiting's important inventors .Some examples : Hargrave box, Belltetrahedral kite, Eddy or Eddy-Malay (forthe tailless bowed kite), Eddy-type kite(for tailed), the Baden-Powell, RogalloFlexikite, Jalbert Parafoil, Sauls NavalBarrage, Allison sled (for ventless sleds),Allison-Scott sled (for vented ones),Grauel Bullet, Thorburn Stacked Deltas,Bushell Trefoil-the list could go on forpages and I stop at random . (Forgive me,all others of equal merit!)Though many kites were designed inantiquity and lack identification with anindividual designer (as are many "ethnic"kites), we shouldn't let that prevent usfrom showing, where we can, honor tokiting's great names . We should correctaway from anonymity and toward creditation. One who leaves a kite behind shouldbe remembered in the sky-rather than ona headstone .Giving credit where it's due can alsoapply to this magazine . From its pages weall learn (including this editor) . It wouldbe well for more of us to acknowledge adebt to our sources of information, evenas Kite Lines, in turn, strives to recognizethe kites, kiters and writers everywherewho have made the magazine what it is .While we who publish Kite Lines arecommitted to continuing it in the serviceof kiting for as long as we can roll paperinto a typewriter and whether it profitsus personally or not, we realize that if themagazine is to outlast us it must paysomeone to do it . We are therefore dedicatedto achieving profitability . Profitsalso will enable us to improve and increaseour services to kiting . Although noone is sharing our risk, everyone canshare our success .Already we're offering an extra servicewhich you'll see on page 13, our new "BriefGuide to Safe and Sure Kiting ." As you'llnotice, it contains a broad and generalintroduction to kiting that has long beenneeded in answer to questions often posedby newcomers to the sport . It also reprintsthe Safety Code which first appeared inan earlier Kite Lines and which has beenso well accepted by the kiting community .Here's an item we hope you do copy, infull, for wide distribution! Or ask us tosupply you with extra copies .But please, when you cozy up to thatcopying machine, just remember the bestinterests of the magazine and guard themas your own .Windily yours,I