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From: hollaar@utah-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d,misc.legal
Subject: Re: COPYRIGHT NOTICES (on program sources, of course)
Message-ID: <4875@utah-cs.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 31-Dec-69 18:59:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: utah-cs.4875
Posted: Wed Dec 31 18:59:59 1969
Date-Received: Sun, 30-Aug-87 23:46:14 EDT
References: <6236@brl-smoke.ARPA> <25095@sun.uucp> <12133@bu-cs.BU.EDU> <357@mcdsun.UUCP> <2267@xanth.UUCP> <455@hscfvax.UUCP> <18119@amdcad.AMD.COM>
Reply-To: hollaar@cs.utah.edu.UUCP (Lee Hollaar)
Organization: University of Utah CS Dept
Lines: 43
Keywords: copyright
Xref: utgpu comp.sources.d:1145 misc.legal:1916
Summary: There can be a variety of forms for the copyright notice

In article <18119@amdcad.AMD.COM> phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) writes:
> ... but DEC can't even do a simple copyright. It reads 
>Copyright Company Date instead of Copyright Date Company. 

Actually, the Copyright Act of 1976 states in 17 USC 401:
"(b) Form of Notice.  -- The notice appearing on the copies shall consist
of the following three elements:
  (1) the symbol ... (the letter C in a circle), or the word "Copyright"
      or the abbreviation "Copr."; and
  (2) the year of the first publication of the work; ... and
  (3) the name of the owner of the copyright ...
(c) Position of Notice. -- ... The Register of Copyrights shall prescribe
by regulation, as examples, specific methods for the affixation and
positions of the notice on various types of works that will satisfy this
requirement, but these specifications shall not be considered exhaustive."

So, even though most people seem to mimic the form "copyright date company",
the form "copyright company date" (or even "date company copyright") meets
the requirements of the Copyright Act.


>They also have that other common mistake: "(This software) is supplied
>"As Is" without expressed or implied warranty", when I thought the
>magic word was "express", not "expressed". (I got this impression from
>reading the crypt man page. Anyone know which is correct?)

Either form is correct, since what they are disclaiming is either an
"express warranty" (a term used in the Uniform Commercial Code to mean a
warranty based on the representations of the seller) or an "expressed
warranty" (a warranty expressed, or given, by the seller).  In the case
of DEC, what they are saying is that they have not stated (or expressed)
any warranties, and there are no implied warranties.

Probably a better source for studying the laws concerning warranties would
be the Uniform Commercial Code, or a text on contracts, not the documentation
of a computer program.


>You may think I'm a nit picker but lawyers are funny people.
Best to pick nits when you know what you are discussing.  I'm not a lawyer,
but sometimes they are "funny" because the law requires very specific things
(like the use of a "C in a circle" rather than "(c)").  (My wife IS a lawyer,
though, and sometimes I do think she is funny.)