bts@sas.UUCP (Brian T. Schellenberger) (02/29/88)
Just in case you want to know the definitive story:
``The notice consists of three parts: the symbol (c), the year in
which the [work] is published, and the name of the copyright owner.
(The [U.S.] law permits the word *Copyright* or the abbreviation
*Copr.* to be used instead of C-in-a-circle symbol, but since the
symbol suits the requirements of the Universal Copyright Convention,
to which the United States and most European contries belong, it is
greatly to be preferred. There is no point in using both symbol and
word, as some publishers do.) In addition, most publishers add to
the notice the phrase ``All rights reserved,'' as this expression
assures protection for the book under the Buenoes Aires Convention,
to which the United States and most Latin American countries belong.
``For any work published with a notice of copyright the law requires
the copyright holder to send two copies to the Copyright Office . . .
The deposit is to made within three months of publication, and no fee
is required. Failure to make the required deposit does not forfeit
rights under the law . . .''
A few points:
1. I am not sure whether (c) is really a valid substitute for C-in-a-circle,
so this may be a good reason to use ``Copyright (c) 1988 . . .'' Maybe
an expert on the International Copyright Convention could fill us in.
Is it even clear whether this is usable for software?
2. Since there is no penalty for not sending in the copies (unless, as the
quote says later, specifically asked to by the Registar of Copyrights),
there is no real reason to bother. Perhaps a lawyer could tell use why
they bother making something ``illegal'' but giving it no penalty.
3. You can get extra protection in an infringement suit by registering
your work when sending copies if you want to.
4. Posting an item to the net or any other public forum would seem to meet
the legal definition of ``publishing,'' but again perhaps more of an
expert could fill us in.
5. I have directed followups to comp.misc. I can't see what any of this
has to do with operating systems, and the distribution is surely too
wide.
--
--Brian.
(Brian T. Schellenberger) ...!mcnc!rti!sas!bts
DISCLAIMER: Whereas Brian Schellenberger (hereinafter "the party of the first ckb@athena.mit.edu (Christopher K. Brown) (06/15/90)
I was under the impression that if UPS delivered something mistakenly to me, I had no obligation to either find the rightful owner nor return it to the carrier. Any truth to this? Chris.