Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watmath!clyde!rutgers!seismo!husc6!bu-cs!bucsb.bu.edu!madd From: madd@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP Newsgroups: misc.legal,comp.sources.d,comp.unix.questions Subject: Re: How to Copyright Message-ID: <887@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP> Date: Mon, 30-Mar-87 20:39:28 EST Article-I.D.: bucsb.887 Posted: Mon Mar 30 20:39:28 1987 Date-Received: Wed, 1-Apr-87 05:21:57 EST References: <42@ethz.UUCP> <2823@well.UUCP> <8788@decwrl.DEC.COM> <865@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP> <620@gargoyle.UChicago.EDU> Reply-To: madd@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (Jim "Jack" Frost) Organization: ODO (Organization for the Disorganization of Organization) Lines: 86 Xref: utgpu misc.legal:1000 comp.sources.d:512 comp.unix.questions:1560 In article <620@gargoyle.UChicago.EDU> mason@gargoyle.uchicago.edu.UUCP (Tony Mason) writes: >In article <865@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP> madd@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (Jim "Jack" Frost) writes: >>In article <8788@decwrl.DEC.COM> reid@decwrl.UUCP (Brian Reid) writes: >>> >>>Please keep in mind that the person who posted the "How to Copyright" >>>question lives in Switzerland. Copyright mechanisms vary from nation to >>>nation, and not every country honors every other country's copyright laws. >>>If the question is "How to Copyright in Switzerland", the answer is likely to >>>be quite different from "How to Copyright in the USA". >> >>I missed the original article I guess, but how to copyright in the US >>is easy. First, it is perfectly legal to just put a notice on your >>stuff (programs and/of literature) that says either: >> >> Copyright >>or >> (c) >> >>Actually, the order of and probably doesn't matter, >>but either of the above is fine. >> >>While the law says that just putting the notice in an obvious place >>constitutes copyright, it's "more" legally binding to fill out a >>form and file it with the government. The form is form TX and is >>available from the Library of Congress. When I asked them for one, >>they sent me about five copies and LOTS of literature on the copyright >>laws and what they mean. It costs about $10 to filethe form. I guess >>the form is just used to "prove" that the program was made by you when >>you said it was. This would definitely help in court, so I suggest >>filing a form if you're worried about it. >> >Note: > >1. There was, last time I heard, question as to whether or not (C) was a >legitimate copyright symbol. The stuff I read said "don't use it." OK, I posted the article everyone is flaming. I wish that I could get hold of my copyright info to back up my claim, but it's 150 miles from here, so tough. Since I can't readily back up my claim, I suggest that you use the full word "copyright", which is definitely correct. I would like to mention that I recall the documents saying that since there was no way to represent the C with a circle that they (meaning the courts) were accepting (C) because it was as close as you could reasonably come to C-with-a-circle on computers. (I seem to recall that this was real recent -- maybe as recent as 1986) >2. You also want the line "All Rights Reserved" on there for some South >American countries (Pan-American Copyright stuff, I think...) where otherwise >they can do strange things with it. This is definitely correct. ALWAYS include this phrase. I had forgotten to mention it, but it is true that for your program to be considered "copyrighted" in many other countries, you must include this. >3. Form TX is the correct form. You must file the first and last 50 pages of >source code, and the fee is $10. The difference between filed and unfiled >copyrights are in collectable damages. If it is registered, damages are >trebled (just like anti-trust) while if it isn't, they aren't. You can file >any time, but violations prior to filing are not treble damage, while >violations after are. Well, the documentation they sent me didn't say this and I am glad someone mentioned it. I'd definitely file if I were looking to prosecute people who are violating my copyright. >An interesting side-effect of the first/last 50 page rule is that you can >file a 20,000 page program, get copyright protection and yet still maintain >trade secret stuff (the other 19,900 pages). > >Although some of this stuff changes (mostly in court precedents) the basic >framework is in the 1976 and 1980 copyright acts. Check for more recent changes. Cheap software has made it necessary to make major revisions and I think there have been changes. I'm sorry if my previous posting put anyone on the wrong track. You should ALWAYS talk to a good lawyer if you have a serious copyright question: don't trust ANYONE else. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Jim Frost * The Madd Hacker | UUCP: ..!harvard!bu-cs!bucsb!madd H H | ARPA: madd@bucsb.bu.edu H-C-C-OH <- heehee +---------+---------------------------------- H H | "We are strangers in a world we never made"