Re: GNU Free Database License

[Alfred M. Szmidt]

   On 2006-09-17, Alfred M. Szmidt <ams@gnu.org> wrote:
   > Well, a photo isn't a "fact", while a dictionary is a list of facts
   > (definitins).  And you cannot copyright a fact (or has this been
   > changed recently?), like the fact that "hello is a common greeting
   > used in the English language".  

   Sure, that's a fact. But how I _write down_ the fact can be
   a creative expression. Do I say "hello is a common greeting"
   or do I add its etymology, a comparison with other languages,
   an explanation of when "hello" is more appropriate than
   "good day", "hi" and other greetings?

That is a bit more than a dictionary, atleast compared to what my
dictionary (Concise English Dictionary) contains.  Which is looks like
the following:

  Route, röt, n. A course or way.

Hence why I noted that the OED contains a bit more than "definitions",
so does M-W.

   So M-W has a copyright on its definition, Dictionary.com similarly
   has one on the definitions it provides, and so on.

They have copyright on the way it is presented.  Not on the actual
definition.  So do we agree? :-)