Star of David Ministries

Star of David
Copyright ©1998-99 Paul L McAroy

[ Copyright ]

†  MAY THE POWER OF REVELATION BE YOURS  †
First Posted
[02/11/1999] 		[ Front Page ]
mt 7:7   Seek... and you Shall Find 		Updated
[02/11/1999]


I sent this letter to those on the email list concerning Copyrights and the Internet.
Perhaps others may find this information helpful, so I am now going to post it on the Web.

===== email letter header =====
Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 10:17:20 -0500
From: Paul McAroy <watchman@integrityonline16.com>
Organization: Star of David Ministries: http://www.geocities.com/~apostle_paul/
To: Congregation
Subject: Copyrights and the Internet
========================

Greetings Brethren,

Since I have started posting web pages on the internet and discussing issues with other people on Forums or through Email, I became concerned how legally I could use what others have said. By doing research on this I also found out how the same laws protects me as well. I would like to share with you my findings, as it may be something of critical use that you may also want to apply, or at the least be knowledgeable of.

I went and did a little research on Copyright Laws to better educate myself concerning this issue. What follows is in no way conclusive as to these laws (I am not a Lawyer) so don't treat it as such. Contact a lawyer yourself if you feel you need legal advice on this subject.

Up until the beginning of this year (1998) there wasn't many people that listened to what I had to say. I also have never published any kind of literary work, therefore when I seen Copyright notices in books I really had know idea of the laws behind that notice. When I would see a [Copyright © 00/00/00 some name] in a book I would think, "You don't have to worry about me coping it, as I already have it in my hand." I admit I was pretty ignorant of the Copyright Laws.

By the means of the World Wide Web (WWW) and Forums for discussing different issues at hand which are read around the World, the potential for anybody in the World to read what you have to say has arrived. Up until this time (about 1995) one basically had to put forth what they wanted to say by books, magazines, tracts, TV, radio, and cassette to reach a wider audience other than people that could be in their presence.

You have to have money to put forth information in any of those older methods above. The financing has to be supplied by the author or someone else willing to invest in putting forth what this person has to say. Usually that reason for spending the money by the author or others is to make more money than they initially put into it. This is not the standard but the general rule.

So now we have arrived at the main reason for Copyright Laws, MONEY. It is a means to make sure you get it. As usual at the very Core or the Root for most things done or not done in human society, we find this testimony which speaks loudly of the fall of humanity. And what is that? this desire and love for money.

The Scripture,......
1Ti 6:3 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
.......is not written in vain.
============

Please understand I'm not saying the copyright laws are evil, but the need for law in humanity, not just that law, testifies that mankind is a fallen race of human beings.

They are born into this world a hybrid product of humanity (meaning they do not represent and are not the pure and original race of man called humans) by coming into this realm of the earth by means of the laws of sexual reproduction.

The First Adam was given a body to exist in this realm by the Spoken Word of God. Not by sexual reproduction. The Second Adam, Jesus Christ, also was given a body to exist in this realm by the Spoken Word of God. Not by sexual reproduction. All Children of God will be given a body to exist in this realm by the Spoken Word of God. Not by sexual reproduction. The manifestation of this event is called the Resurrection and Rapture.

This proves that God's original and therefore His only method to manifest the Children of God in a body of flesh, is by Speaking them into existence. For this is what He has Always done, and He changes not.

This also proves that the door or to say the entrance into this realm by the use of the laws of sexual reproduction is a perversion of the use of the Natural Physical Laws of God. This also reveals that this method of birth is Sorcery (which we now call Science) And therefore comes from the Tree of Knowledge. Is this not the original sin in the Garden of Eden, which caused the Fall of Humanity?)
============

Now with this new way of putting forth information and gathering it (by the internet) cost is not really an issue anymore. For about $20.00 a month (USA internet hookup) a person can place whatever they wish to say on their own webpage (in most cases at no cost), or speak to millions of people by way of the Usenet or other Forum based websites (DejaNews etc.,).

With this new technology (Sorcery-Science, from the Tree of Knowledge) we now have the ability to gather an enormous ever increasing amount of diversified information.

The sources can be recognized authors, or people that are not recognized as authors, that can now contribute to the edification and growth of mankind. Also the internet is the only place where one can read books or material that has been banned in either this nation or others, along with other topics you would never find in a book store, library, or university.

The poor the rich and those in between can now say what they will to potentially millions of people. One can now sit at home and with their keyboard or at the click of their mouse, have access to the biggest and most through database of information known in the history of man! Speaking for myself, I enjoy it! My understanding of the history of man, the earth, cosmos, different so-called sciences, the arts, religions, cults, cultural beliefs, to name a few topics have increased far beyond what would have been possible if not for the the information provided on the Internet. If only my brain worked as a 'hard drive' to store it all, and then retrieve it when I wanted it. ha ha ha.

Which brings me to the topic of storing information by way of Computer, and then dispersing this information in full or in part. In this new internet realm, gathering and dispersing information to millions in seconds is possible. No longer is it necessary to gather information by reading it on paper, seeing it on TV or hearing it from the radio, cassette player ect,.

Copyright laws are much easier to control and enforce by these formats. The internet however is not regulated at this time ( and I hope it never is) so to control the disbursement and gathering of information is quite difficult if not impossible.

Yet Copyright Laws do apply to information over the Internet by way of the World Wide Web, Usenet, Email and any other methods of dispersing information by way computers.

At this time there is discussions and hearings by the courts of law on how to deal with this new situation. It is quite complex and I will not go into it in depth, but will give you some main excerpts of the Copyright laws and how they are also applied over the internet.
========================

Intellectual Property:



[quote] 2. Works Published Abroad

The notice provisions changed again on March 1, 1989, the date the United States joined the Berne Convention. The Berne Convention is an international copyright convention that attempts to harmonize the copyright laws of different countries. In addition to affecting the way in which the United States treats materials published in other jurisdictions, implementation of the Convention required some changes to our own Act, (49) including the notice requirement. In order to bring U.S. law into conformity with that of other Berne Convention countries which have abandoned the notice requirement, the U.S. law now states that for works published on or after March 1, 1989, a copyright notice may be placed on all publicly distributed copies. (50) For works published after that date, a notice of copyright is not required, but the Copyright Office is continuing to encourage the use of the notice on a voluntary basis to allow a copyright owner to defeat a claim of innocent infringement. As a result, for works published after March 1, 1989, with or without a notice of copyright, one should presume they are protected. [ (49) Legislation implementing the Berne Convention was passed at P.L. 100-568, 702 Stat 2853 (Oct. 31, 1988).] [ (50) 17 U.S.C.A. Sec. 401(a) (1990 pp.)] [end quote Robert L. Oakley]

[quote] Registration and deposit with the Library of Congress. Generally speaking, copyright protection in the United States for published works requires first publication in the United States or in a country with whom we have a copyright treaty. Protection is also granted if the author is domiciled in one of those countries. In addition, the President may issue a proclamation granting protection for works and authors from particular countries if he finds that those countries accord nondiscriminatory treatment to U.S. works. Finally, works published by the United Nations or by the Organization of American States are granted protection.

Under the Universal Copyright Convention, the normal U.S. formalities were not required for non-domestic authors, provided published works contained the U.C.C. notice, consisting of (1) the "c" in a circle, (2) the name of the proprietor, and (3) the year of first publication, placed on the work in such a way as to give "reasonable notice" of the claim. Thus, although the dates when different countries signed the conventions are certainly relevant, it would be prudent to consider any work published with the requisite notice in any of these countries, or by a domiciliary of one these countries, protected in a manner equivalent to U.S. works.

The Berne Convention substantially expands the number of countries (54) having reciprocal relations with the United States. However, the Convention, which became effective on March 1, 1989, is entirely prospective. As a result, adherence to Berne does not add any protection to works already in the public domain in the United States. Works
published before March 1989 in Berne countries that do not have another copyright agreement with the United States are, therefore, unprotected in the U.S. even though they may be protected elsewhere. As noted above, the Berne Convention also does away with the notice requirement. As a result, works published in any Berne country after March 1, 1989, with or without a notice of copyright, should be presumed to be protected for the
statutory duration.

[ (54). Eighty-one states are members of the Berne Convention, including: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, German Democratic Republic, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Guinea, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Zaire, and Zimbabwe. See 1989 Copyright 7 (January 1989).] [end quote | Robert L. Oakley]

[quote] D. Summary--What is Protected and What is in the Public Domain?

As of 1990, anything published before 1915 is in the public domain. Moreover, if a work was published before 1950, it must have been renewed under the old Act. If it was, it gained an additional 47 years (provided, of course, it was published with the requisite notice), but if it was not, it is now in the public domain. (76) If it was published between 1950 and 1978, renewal registration must be completed by the end of the calendar year in which the twenty eighth anniversary of publication occurs. If the renewal is not (or was not) made in a timely manner, the work is in the public domain. If the work was first published after 1978, then it should be presumed to be protected. Finally, all U.S. government documents are in the public domain, except where they reproduce protected materials. [ (76). According to the Copyright Office, 90 percent of all copyrights are not renewed. For books and periodicals, only about 5 percent are renewed. See Copyright Law Revision Study No. 30, "Duration of Copyright", Appendix B (Committee Print 1961).]

Until the new Copyright Act took over, unpublished works were protected in perpetuity unless they were registered with the Copyright Office. If they were registered, they were subject to the same statutory rules listed above. Under the new Act, unpublished works, like published works, are protected for the life of the author plus 50 years. For such works in existence before the new Act, the duration of protection varies, but in no case does protection expire before December 31, 2002. As a result, such unpublished works should, for the time being, be presumed to be protected. [end quote | Robert L. Oakley]

[quote] G. Limitations on the Rights of Copyright Owners

1. Fair Use97, Section 107
Fair use is a judicially created equitable rule of reason to permit limited copying of protected works. It was developed to permit researchers to copy portions of a work into their notes and to use excerpts from a protected work in a subsequent work. Examples of the use of protected work in the creation of a new work include literary criticism, scholarship, news reporting, parody, etc. When the new Act was passed, it attempted to incorporate the judicial doctrine of fair use as it had developed to that time. (99) As enacted, the statute gives examples of possible fair use and provides a list of criteria for the courts to review in individual cases to determine whether or not a particular use is fair:

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the fair use of a copyrighted work...for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include-- [ (99) Both the House and Senate reports indicated their intent "to restate the present judicial doctrine of fair use, not to change, narrow, or enlarge it in any way." At the same time, however, they were also careful to indicate that it was not their intention to freeze the doctrine in the statute especially during a period of rapid technological change...." See H.R. Rep. 94-1476 at 66 (1976) and S.Rep. 94-473 at 62 (1975), cited in Patry, The Fair Use Privilege in Copyright Law at vii (1985). [end quote | Robert L. Oakley]
============

Public Domain



That phrase "Public Domain" simple means there is no copyright laws being applied to that which is written or said, and therefore anybody can do what they wish with that information.

Let us now deal more closely with this topic of Public Domain and see how it is applied to the internet.
========================

Posting of information on Usenet or any public forum is also to be viewed as similar to publication of that material.

[quote] Once something is posted onto the network, it is *probably* in the public domain unless you own the appropriate rights (most notably, if you wrote the thing yourself) and you post it with a valid copyright notice; a court would have to decide the specifics and there are arguments for both sides of the issue. Now that the US has ratified the Berne convention, the issue is even murkier (if you are a poster in the US). For all practical purposes, though, assume that you effectively give up the copyright if you don't put in a notice. Of course, the *information* becomes public, so you mustn't post trade secrets that way. [end quote | Chuq Von Rospach]

[quote] It is perfectly legal to reproduce short extracts of a copyrighted work for critical purposes, but reproduction in whole is strictly and explicitly forbidden by US and international copyright law. (Otherwise, there would be no way for the artist to make money, and there would thus be less motive for people to go to the trouble of making their art available at all. The crime of theft is as serious in this context as any other, even though you may not have to pick locks, mask your face, or conceal merchandise.) [end quote | Mark Horton]
============

Email



Now for the last item concerning the digital highway, Email. Here we basically have personal letters that are being mailed to other people around the world. But in this case, at least in the USA, we are not using the United States Postal Service which has federal laws governing and protecting those letters which are being sent.

And as I said earlier, there is no one protecting or enforcing your rights on the internet. You are on your own here, so you need to do what you believe is necessary to protect your rights yourself. Your mail can even be read by many people without you even knowing it, unless you encrypt it with a good method. So watch what you say, or secure what you say, yourself.

[quote] It is generally considered rude to post private e-mail correspondence without the permission of the author of that mail. Furthermore, under copyright statutes, the author of the e-mail possesses a copyright on mail that he or she wrote; posting it to the net or mailing it on to others without permission of the author is likely a violation of that copyright as well as being rude. [end quote | Mark Horton]

So an Email letter falls under the Copyright Laws, even as letters sent on paper to someone. And we know that there have been personal letters written to someone on paper that have been published, of which, Copyright Laws protected them. So there is no difference in the Copyright Law just because a person sends them electronically with their computer.
============

Email List



Now the murky area is whether an Email Letter is protected by Copyright laws when sent to many people known as an "Email List". Without going into the laws that may shadow this, it would seem that it could fall into the same category as posting to a Usenet or Public Forum and therefore be in the Public Domain if no Copyright Notice was attached.

On the other hand a crucial and major factor in determining this would be whether the Email letter sent to the Email List was considered a Public or Selected group of people. If it falls under the Selected group, the letter would be protected by Copyright Laws even if it don't have a Copyright Notice. So caution is warranted in the use of this type of material.

If you send Email to an Email List and this issue is of concern, my advice ( remember, I'm not a lawyer) would be to post a Copyright Notice in the Letter in order to tell the people what they may or may not do with that information. At least by doing this people will know how to treat the information contained therein.
========================

Reasons for my use of the Copyright Laws.



I have no interest in the making of money, and therefore am not using the Copyright Laws for the purpose of protecting what I say for potential financial gain. I hate the filthy stuff (money) because of what it does to a man or women who has a desire to have it, known as the love of money. This desire (not the money itself) will totally corrupt your way of thinking, your attitude about life, and of course your walk with God.

Many Christians and yes Ministers have and are being destroyed because they love and desire to have more money than they NEED. Take a good look around you and notice the millions of people caught in this trap who are of the world, and then see if you are living and desiring the same vain material things as the rest of the world is. This should give you a pretty good clue, if you are willing to look into the Mirror of the Word of God, to view yourself by His Eyes.

Mt 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (money).

1Ti 6:3-10 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
=====================

Now for my reasons for wanting to apply the Copyright laws to what I have written.

And it is not as though I'm doing this because I vainly think that what I say or write is important, but it is important to me that I am known by what I actually did say or write. I don't like being falsely accused or represented by others. Do you?

I don't want someone accusing me of something or who is supposedly speaking for me and saying I said this or that, did this or that, or that I believe this or that, outside of a Scriptural way and method. They must provide Scriptural Proof having 2 or 3 people as a witness, or having what I actually have written myself (my own testimony) in order to verify that I did say or do it. This is the Law of God.

But the laws of this fallen race of man do not uphold the Laws of the Righteous God. Once again this reveals another secret in that there is many more humans born through sexual intercourse that are of the spiritual race of Cain (Serpent Seed), than those who are the spiritual Children and Seed of God. And if one will notice, the Scriptures speak plainly as to how a person who is calling themselves a Christian is to deal with these situations. Yet how many professing Christians which also proclaim they are the Bride of Christ, follow the Word of the Living God in these matters?

De 17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.

De 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. 16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; 17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; 18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; 19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. 20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.

Mt 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

1Ti 5:19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. 20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

An example of the Word of the Lord being broken and set aside by so-called Christians, can be seen on many webpages and Forums where they proclaim that William Branham was a false prophet because he prophesied in the Name of the Lord (Thus Saith the Lord) that the end of the world would come in 1977.

They say this, and by their statement alone (not William Branhams) use this as Proof that he was a false prophet. And of course if there wasn't a way to prove this Allegation by what he said himself, then there should be Two or Three Witnesses to verify that William Branham did indeed say this. But of course there never is. Why? because they are false witnesses, liars, deceivers, children of the wicked one (Serpent Seed), and the Lord God Himself shall judge them for doing this evil.

They dare not post William Branhams own quotes (of which anyone has access to) whereof he spoke of 1977, for it would PROVE them to be false witnesses. So they don't.

And they don't even need to for most will believe what others have to say about someone anyway. How many people have believed what these false witnesses proclaim, and yet this could have been avoided, (being deceived that is) if they would have simply used the Word of God to handle this situation.? You can bet many, for few follow the Word of the Living God.

That is why Satan uses these methods as he does. Yet these tricks of the Devil are not effectual when applied to a Child of God which adheres to the Word of God. They cannot be deceived, and this is the reason why.

Another reason I am going to start using the Copyright laws is so that someone else can't use what I have written for the purpose of making money unless I am first notified and give my approval. I'm not against publishing what I have to say, if this ever came up, but it would certainly have to be done in a just way and for a righteous cause. The reason behind doing it sure would not be for the purpose of making money.
====================

Copyright © 1998 Paul L McAroy All Rights Reserved.



Everything I have written and sent by electronic means to the World Wide Web, Usenet, Forums, Personal Letters, and Email Groups in the year 1998 are copyrighted by Paul L McAroy. Terms of use and notices follow.

What I have written to individuals in personal Email letters can be copied in full or in part (quotes) and distributed as long as there is no commercial advantage in doing so. I ask that my name and the date of the letter be included.

This also applies to the Email List that I have mailed letters to. These letters can be copied in whole or in part ( quotes) and distributed as long as there is no commercial advantage, or money made in doing so. I ask that my name and the date of the letter be included.

All information that is on my Webpages that I have written myself may be copied and distributed in whole or in part (quotes) if there is no commercial advantage in doing so. I ask that my name and the date specified on the web page be included.

The Logo on the Front Main Index Page of my web site, which has the Phrase "Star of David Ministries" contained in it, is Copyrighted and may not be used or distributed without consent of the author, which is myself.

The overall web design of my web site is also copyrighted and may not be used without prior notification of the webmaster, which is myself.
===================

Ok, that about covers it all.

The reason for the desire for the Date to be included is so that I can find the letter and quote easily, if need be. I archive ALL letters that I have written to individual persons, as well as the letters that I send to the Email List. So I do have a record of everything I have said by either Email letters, Email List group, Usenet, Forums, and of course what I have placed on my web pages.

I pray that the Lord blesses you with the knowledge of His will for your life.

†May the Power of Revelation be yours†
Paul McAroy

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Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will Enquire, enquire ye: return, come.  Isa 21:11,12 

Re 1:5 Jesus Christ, who is the Faithful Witness, and the First Begotten Of The Dead, and the Prince Of The kings Of The Earth. Unto Him that Loved us, and Washed us from our Sins In HIS OWN BLOOD,
Php 2:9-11 God also hath Highly Exalted Him, and Given Him A Name which is Above Every Name: That at the Name OF Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that Every Tongue Should Confess that Jesus Christ IS Lord, to The Glory Of God The Father.
Ac 4:11,12 This is the STONE which was set at nought of You Builders, which is become the HEAD OF THE CORNER. Neither is there Salvation in any other: for there is None Other Name under heaven Given Among Men, whereby WE MUST BE SAVED. 

Copyright © 1998-99 Star of David Ministries, Paul L McAroy
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