>Another piece of copyright law pertains to ownership of data.

What piece? Please site the relevant section of section 17 of the US Code...


<
An independent contractor, converting data from a legacy format to a newer format, might have claims to the data in the new format.
>

Might??? What basis do you make this conclusion?

If I the company that is contracting your services have title to data that you assist me in converting from one format to anohter, how are my claims to title affected by your actions?

This by the way, is an invitation to you to make a convincing argument....


>This one is interesting: A copyright cannot be applied to a formula or equation

What does this have to do with the topic of conversation????


>In recent years, congress has been limiting the protections of patents. Inventors have been loosing to big corporate interests. Actors are loosing royalty fees for commercials. And, if those sites you offered are any indication, so goes the authors' copyright protections. Go figure: Inovation is becoming a commodity!
>

The topic here is copyright law, not patent law.....< s >.... The two are very distinct.....