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From: rb@ccivax.UUCP (rex ballard)
Newsgroups: net.legal
Subject: Re: copyrights to letters
Message-ID: <385@ccivax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 10-Feb-86 19:33:57 EST
Article-I.D.: ccivax.385
Posted: Mon Feb 10 19:33:57 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Feb-86 05:52:46 EST
References: <256@bambi.UUCP>
Reply-To: rb@ccivax.UUCP (What's in a name ?)
Distribution: net
Organization: CCI Telephony Systems Group,  Rochester NY
Lines: 18

Often REGISTERED MAIL is used to secure a copyright.  In this case,
Each Item/Attachment is marked or stamped by the postal clerk.  Normally
Copyright notice should be included in this mailing.  This package is
sent to yourself and kept on file.  This practice is very unpopular
with the post office, but very popular with professions which want
to copyright each work as an individual piece.  This is a practice
taught to scenic designers, who have a guild which only enforces copyrights
documented in this way (Scenic Artists Guild).

Registered Mail provides proof of publication,  proof of publication date,
and proof of copyright notice.  I don't know about other fields, but
in music and theater, you must be able to show proof of copyright even
to place a work in public domain.  Otherwise, someone else can go through
the formalities of getting the work copyrighted and sue the original
author, or file a claim through the appropriate guild, and collect
for all 'freely distributed copies'.  Particularly in scholastic theater,
this has been known to happen (Student fails to copyright a work and
a professional 'formally publishes and copyrights' the same work).