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From: shawn@pnet51.cts.com (Shawn Stanley)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: "Common Law" Copyrights and Software
Message-ID: <926@orbit.UUCP>
Date: 12 Apr 89 02:25:09 GMT
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Organization: People-Net [pnet51], Minneapolis, MN.
Lines: 32

aragorn@blake.acs.washington.edu (Michael Owen) writes:
>(This is mainly directed at Andy Nicholas, David Lyons, Don Elton, Morgan
>Davis, et al, but everybody feel free to respond.)
>
>What steps should you take to properly copyright or otherwise "protect" a
>piece of software?  Is there such a thing as a "common law" copyright that
>anybody can slap on something that they've written or created and be legally
>protected?  Or, must you go through a lawyer or some central clearing agency
>that hands out copyrights?  Also, can these measures be applied equally to
>pieces of writing and poetry?

Actually, the legislation covering software copyrights came *after* the
legislation for writings and such.

>I've written some programs that I'd like to legally mark as mine, but am
>unsure as to how to go about this.  I've heard of mailing yourself a copy of
>a program via US mail to prove that it existed at a certain date--is this a
>viable way to prove you wrote something?

Technically, as soon as you create a piece of work and display the message,
"Copyright (year) by (author", you have a piece of copyrighted material, in
the USA.  The international copyright symbol is recognized in many countries
(and no, (c) is not the equivalent).

However, to register your copyright so that it's protected "legally", you must
register your software by filling out various forms and enclosing hard-copy
portions of your program (the first and last 25 pages, generally).  You can
get more information, and the required forms, by contacting the Copyright
Office of the federal government.

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