Intellectual 'PROPERTY'

From: Eric Chomko <vze2wsvr_at_verizon.net>
Date: Sun Jan 19 23:38:01 2003

Eric Smith wrote:

> > what it said was
> > "Belonging to the people inhabiting a country
> > originally or at the time of its discovery."
>
> I have no idea what dictionary you're looking at, but dictionary.com
> found several:
>
> Originating and living or occurring naturally in an area or environment.
> American Heritage Dictionary of the English Lanugage, Fourth Edition
>
> Native; produced, growing, or living, naturally in a country or climate;
> not exotic; not imported.
> Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1998
>
> Originating where it is found
> WorldNet, 1997
>
> The idea of "inhabiting a country originally or at the time of its
> discovery" may be *one* definition of indigenous, but it's clearly
> not definitive. One example givin in the Webster's entry does seem
> to substantiate the definition you've given, even though the Webster's
> definition is more broad.
>
> Anyhow, not all definitions of "native" require the noun to be
> indigenous. In fact, most don't. For instance, definition two in
> the American Heritage Dictionary (ibid.):
>
> Being such by birth or origin: <i>A native Scot</i>.
>
> I'm certainly an American by birth or origin, thus I'm clearly native
> to America.

Right, you are a native American but not a Native American.
And there is no such things as Native Scots, just native Scots.

The proper noun in this case is the key.

Eric
Received on Sun Jan 19 2003 - 23:38:01 GMT