
Ask HN: Are LUTs copyright-able in the US? - davisr
Dear HN,<p>Elecrophoretic (e-paper) displays often use a .fw &quot;waveform&quot; file, generated by a tool, for driving the displays. This waveform file is a lookup table (LUT) of timings, voltages, and temperatures for driving a panel of specific electrical characteristics.<p>Since it seems this LUT is not created as a form of art (being auto-generated) and it is also a raw representation of driving properties, my gut tells me this isn&#x27;t copyrightable because facts can&#x27;t be copyrighted.<p>Are there any lawyers here who could weigh in? Can these waveform files be freely shared, and do they belong to the public domain?<p>Thanks.
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tlb
My understanding is that there's a great deal of R&D behind optimal waveforms
for e-paper. It takes careful tuning to avoid visual artifacts like ghosts and
afterimages. And much of the progress in visual quality and longevity over the
last several years is from better waveforms. So it's not very fact-like in the
sense that anyone could derive the same waveform from theory.

