Overreaching "All Rights Reserved"

Today, I started Too Late the Phalarope by Alan Paton. I enjoyed the first couple chapters, but the well-written story of apartheid is not what prompted this post.

Instead, it is the poorly-written copyright notice on the first page which struck me. According to Simon & Schuster, the publisher,

"All Rights [are] Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form."

Moving past the fact that notice is not even necessary anymore to obtain a copyright, the publisher clearly negates fair use. This unnecessary statement is particularly worrisome because such misinformation is nearly omnipresent in today's media.

Anyone who has watched a major league sporting event has heard an ominous voice announce that any "rebroadcast or retransmission" requires the "express written consent" of the league. Yikes!

And do they ever take this seriously. Wendy Seltzer recently received notice that YouTube had complied with a DMCA take-down notice for her uploading of the copyright notice of the Super Bowl. Luckily she has the legal and technical knowledge to fight this clear fair use (educational & parody).

But, how many people know their rights? Fewer every time the draconian notices are repeated.

Do you have any insane copyright notices in your house?