tac@teldata.UUCP (Tom Condon) (04/05/84)
, (sop to the blank line eaters--consider it a religious sacrifice)
OK, this is what the Copyright lawyer I went to said.
To insure your copyright put on the document:
Copyright (or (c)) , the date and your name or corporation.
Once you have done this, and can establish that you did indeed have
a copy of it then you can always collect damages for infringment.
If, however, you wish to collect "Punitive" damages you must register
the copyright with the US government. They will be glad to take
something in the neighborhood of $50.00 for the privledge. The lawyer
pointed out that the best way to prove that you had a copy of the item
on a given date is to mail yourself a copy of it by certified mail and
never open it.
The Apple people, in their "SOFTWARE PORTFOLIO: A Guide For Software
Developers" intimate that you only need put the copyright on the
documentation, not the code! They go on to suggest that it is *BEST*
if it appear on the first screen display also, and in the code.
From the Soapbox of
Tom Condon {...!uw-beaver!teltone!teldata!tac}
A Radical A Day Keeps The Government At Bay.