copyright

The name Lilliput Miniaturez, the Lilliput Miniaturez Website and Sandy's Diary stories were conceived, designed and published by Sandy in April 2000, and thereby Copyrighted.

COPYRIGHT

The Internet is a media for free expression and entertainment. Petz sites are part of this media and intended to bring free fun and entertainment to their visitors. A tremendous amount of effort and work, mainly by young writers, goes into designing and providing these sites. Many thousands of Petz lovers visit them each week, and it should NOT be a platform for infighting nor a monopoly by a self elected few.

Often there are arguments about the copyrighting of Hexed Petz and files. The fur filez are, as stated, internal to the petz program and written by PF Magic - and they were not created by any of us. In fact, the only persons holding copyright on the files is PF Magic. This goes for any internal filez. They can be used by anyone. To say they are 'copyrighted' by someone else because they found them first doesn't make any sense, when they are already copyrighted by PF Magic. It is like saying you cannot hex a certain colour because someone did that first, or you cannot use a pet out of the Adoption Centre because someone found that first.

None of us can claim to have the right to stop anyone who has bought the software from using the facilities supplied within it. Indeed that is what we pay for when we purchase the program.

So, come on guys, use your heads. Many site owners spend a lot of their own time in an effort to provide a free platform for millions of youngsters to join in the Petz community, enabling them to have hours of harmless fun. By all means have pride in the presentation and originality on your Web site, and even copyright what is your original creation such as, in our case, our Lilliput Miniaturez creation and web design, or the - Sandy's Diary stories. This will gain you far more respect and increase your traffic, but don't go on trying to monopolise it all for yourselves by claiming copyright on what was obviously someone else's work. Also, if you are using someone else's designs, and remember you would need with their permission to copy/use it, don't go on trying to kid everyone out there that YOU own it all, and they can only do as YOU say. Let's try to build on the community spirit and encourage more people join in and have fun.

N.B - IT WOULD USUALLY BE UNDER EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT SOMEONE MAY GIVE FREE PERMISSION FOR YOU TO USE THEIR COPYRIGHTED PRODUCT, SO DON'T BE DISAPPOINTED IF THE OWNERS SAY NO!

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INFORMATION ON HEXED LITTERZ
( and by the way Lilliputz Miniaturez are not hexed, but selectively bred! )

Hexed Litterz are produced quite simply by altering the numbering codes in the Petz Program Breed Files

Anyone possessing a Hexing Program can very easily use it to change the appearance of the Petz coats etc. For instance, to produce a different coloured fur, it is a simple matter of changing the code in the fur file. (eg Wheaten, Brindle, whatever). Several sites offer advice on this type of programming.

It would appear that some site owners who make Hexed Litters place copyright symbols against them under a misguided belief that they can forever deny anyone else the right to use the same facilities to produce or reproduce a similar Litterz.

But do the people who claim to own Copyright on their versions really know what they are about - The answer to that I'm afraid is NO!

By all means claim copyright on your own artistic graphics pictures depicting the litterz etc.!

Since PF Magic Designed and Registered their original Petz software, then they obviously also own copyright on the entirety of the Petz program INCLUDING ALL THE FUR FILES THAT ARE INTEGRATED IN THE BREED FILE. Those people who manipulate the data within these files to produce a different appearance to the petz fur are only using something that already exists. They are just modifying the hexadecimal codes.

Copyright Law states quite clearly that copyright may only apply to an original design product (which excludes the modification of someone else's copyrighted product).

So modifying someone elses copyrighted files does NOT give entitlement to a new copyright. It may even infringe on the original copyright! Anyone changing the code within these files is purely modifying a product already copyrighted by someone else - that being PF Magic.

SO WHAT CAN YOU (C) COPYRIGHT.

With respect to your litterz designs, you could in effect copyright:

1). The 'original' text and graphics layout of your relevant Web pages.

2). An 'original' graphic design which displays the name and picture of your entire litterz family.

3). The 'original' graphic design which displays the name and picture for the individuals within the litter.

4). The 'original' .bmp graphic you have made as a texture file for your petz litter (but only if you have made it yourself!)

AND THAT IS ABOUT ALL. DO NOT GET CONFUSED WITH PATENTS AND REGISTERING OF PRODUCT NAMES - THIS IS A DIFFERENT CONCEPT TO COPYRIGHTING and IS DEALT WITH UNDER SEPARATE LEGISLATION and CAN BE VERY EXPENSIVE TO ARRANGE THROUGH THE PATENTS OFFICES.