[CLUE-Talk] The Oxford English Dictionary

[Angelo Bertolli]

>I find it odd that the OED folks choose a proprietary viewer and data to
>display definitions of words in the English language (definitions which by
>all account should not be copyrightable). I could understand them wanting
>money for the work put into maintaining the OED but to go so far as to only
>support one group of computer users (no matter how large that group is) is
>singularly ridiculous.
>  
>

It is kind of silly, but the specific wording of definitions is 
copyrightable.  (Correct me if I'm wrong someone.)  What's not 
copyrightable is the meaning behind the words.

I'm sure another company was hired to produce the CDs, so it's most 
likely a case of that company saying "you need copyright protection so 
people don't pirate this," and that company not really knowledgeable in 
non-MS computing.

Angelo