Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site scc.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcs!lsuc!pesnta!scc!steiny From: steiny@scc.UUCP (Don Steiny) Newsgroups: net.sources.bugs Subject: Re: copyright notice Message-ID: <604@scc.UUCP> Date: Sat, 18-Jan-86 23:37:31 EST Article-I.D.: scc.604 Posted: Sat Jan 18 23:37:31 1986 Date-Received: Sun, 19-Jan-86 07:42:52 EST References: <1536@wanginst.UUCP> <1073@ecsvax.UUCP> <3167@sun.uucp> Distribution: net Organization: Don Steiny Software Lines: 49 Summary: Copyrights do not need notices, librarys or any such thing ** There have been several articles that are very confused. The term "public domain" is unrelated to copyrights. Copyrights are a means of protecting published material. The only time it makes a difference if something is public domain or not is if it is a trade secret, still another means of protecting something. If something is in the public domain it is not a trade secret, though it may still be copyrighted. This information is in "Legal Care for your Software" Nolo Press, by Daniel Remer. The most reveling line about copyright is on p. 25. It says: "A copyright, theoretically, is automatically born the instant the program is transfered from your mind to paper or floppy disk or other fixed form." The other steps, putting a copyright notice in your work and filing with the Copyright office, are taken to prove that you have copyrighted the work. One takes these steps iff they plan to enforce the copyright. In practice, simply putting the copyright notice in a work is sufficent to copyright a work and you have up to a year to register with the copyright office if you feel that the extra protection in necessary because of a pending court action. If you donate something to the net, it is unlikely that you will want to spend the money on legal fees to enforce your copyright, but legally, if you say it is copyrighted then it is copyrighted. If you specify restrictions on the use of the material that are allowable under copyright laws the legally, these restrictions apply. However, these are CIVIL laws, not criminal, so if you want to enforce a copyright, then it is up to you to take the person(s) you feel violated the copyright to court. Personally, I respect others copyrights. I am an author of articles, a book in progress, and one software system that is on the market. The stuff about giving a copy to the Library of Congress or some other library is nonsense. -- scc!steiny Don Steiny @ Don Steiny Software 109 Torrey Pine Terrace Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060 (408) 425-0382