Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!usc!pollux.usc.edu!papa
From: papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: PD or Shareware Copyrights
Message-ID: <18058@usc.edu>
Date: 23 Jun 89 05:58:37 GMT
References: <18195@louie.udel.EDU> <18280@louie.udel.EDU>
Sender: news@usc.edu
Reply-To: papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa)
Organization: Felsina Software, Los Angeles, CA
Lines: 56

In article <18280@louie.udel.EDU> new@udel.EDU (Darren New) writes:
>By putting the words Copyright 1989 Your Name in the opening screen
>of the program and in all printed documentation, you have a copyright
>on the program. 

FALSE. You have the copyright the minute you "create" your work, no matter
whether you have include the copyright notice. This was always true, though
today it is even more, since the US has joined the Berne Convention.

>Before you can sue for violation of copyright, you
>must register that copyright with the federal government, which basically
>entails filling out a form (no laywer needed) and sending it in with
>a copy (or two, I forget) of the work and a $25-$50 fee. 

It is not the federal government but the Copyright Office, and the fee is
only $10.

>Note that if
>you put the copyright notice on, and then someone copies it, and then you 
>register it, you can still sue but you can't get some of the 
>punitive (sp?) damages. 

Not entirely true. You have three (months) from publication date to register
and get rights to punitive damages.

>It is not legal to use (C) or Copyrighted.
>The little c in a circle is OK (and is in the Amiga ROM fonts somewhere).

Again, since the US has joined the Berne COnvention this is no longer entirely
true, but to be on the safe side I would still do it.

>The copyright gives you rights to control duplication, public performance,
>distribution (I'm not quite sure what this means),

Distribution is the right to control who can legally obtain and re-distribute
your software. Licensing agreements usually entail giving distribution rights
to other companies.

> and creation of
>derivative works. If you say Public Domain then anyone can do anything
>they like with it.  In other words, saying "This is Public Domain except that
>you can't sell it for money" is oxymoronic. -- Darren

Yep. Oximoronic looks good :-)

>DISCLAIMER: I'm not a lawyer. I just have a layman's knowledge about it.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer either, though I have one and have registered
copyrighted material.  I found that getting advice from a "real" lawyer, though
expensive, turns out to pay off down the line.

-- Marco Papa 'Doc'
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