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From: papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: PD Disks
Keywords: PD Disks, Money
Message-ID: <16726@usc.edu>
Date: 23 Apr 89 21:45:48 GMT
References: <38833@bbn.COM> <99856@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <38944@bbn.COM> <6886@bsu-cs.bsu.edu> <8687@polya.Stanford.EDU> <16698@usc.edu> <10769@mcdphx.phx.mcd.mot.com>
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In article <10769@mcdphx.phx.mcd.mot.com> dbk@teroach.UUCP (Dave Kinzer) writes:
>   Did the US sign up to the Berne Convention (or something like that?)
>I fuzzily recall that one of the provisions was the _right_ of the author
>to _remove_ his works from the public domain.

Yes, I belive the US has now signed the Berne Convention (I recall seeing it
in the WSJ at the beginning of April). The main difference is that in Berne
Convention member countries no formalities, such as notices of registration, 
are required for copyright protection; copyrigth duration is at least the 
author's life plus 50 years, and the author has "moral" rights, which briefly
consist of the right to claim of authorship, disclaim of authorship of copies,
and right to object to any distortion, mutilation or modification of the 
author's work injurious to his/her reputation.  Provisions allow the "fair
use" of copyrighted material in quotation for a variety of purposes
(educational, reporting).

I have no idea whether something that has been put in the "public domain", 
can later be reinstated as copyrighted.  That sounds pretty unlikely to me.

ONE THE OTHER HAND, proper registration with the US copyright office provides 
more extensive BENEFITS. In particular, when infringement is proved, one
can collect statutory damages and attorney's fees, not just actual damages
(which are usually very small).

So even in light of the US participation in the Berne Convention, it is still
fairly useful to register with the copyright office (which includes using
"proper" copyright notices, too).

-- Marco Papa 'Doc'
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