On 2/8/00 7:53 PM, Swift Justice at samesq@pacbell.net wrote:
> You don't get a copyright simply because you post, say, or write
> something original, no matter how valuable it may be. Copyrights in a
> particular work must be applied for, and when the copyright term has
> expired, a renewal must be applied for and paid for.
This isn't true anymore. From the US Copyright Office's web site:
Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is
created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship
immediately becomes the property of the author who created
the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights
through the author can rightfully claim copyright.
> Assume that anything that you put on the web is public domain unless
> you specifically say that the work is copyrighted, or it is part of a
> copyrighted website.
Again the law has changed. From the US Copyright office:
The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under
U. S. law, although it is often beneficial. Because prior
law did contain such a requirement, however, the use of
notice is still relevant to the copyright status of older
works.
> Simply saying that they work is copyrighted, while
> a copyright is being applied for, is usually deemed sufficient for
> protection. If I put a tip on the list or an uncopyrighted website for
> how to get 400HP out of a stock 1275 using only Lucas wiring and wing
> nuts, it is up for grabs and anyone can use it in a book or commercial
> publication without giving me any credit at all. You must state that it
> is a copyrighted work and include the copyright date or include the
> copyright symbol and the date of the copyright. As an example closer to
> home, Vizard's book and Horler's also are copyrighted. I can quote from
> them in a public forum/ fair use setting, but I can't pass their work
> off as my own without giving them credit, or perhaps royalties, for its
> use.
I think the real issue is that while it may be illegal to re-publish a tip
(there are some fair use exceptions), is it really worth the cost to pursue
it and win in a court of law?
In this case, I would guess that the "court of public opinion" is the better
forum for arguing the case... (which Frank has done very successfully)
And, if anyone is interested, the US Copyright Office has a very readable
description of copyright law on their web site:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html
Regards,
Robb
1962 Sprite MKII (eagerly waiting for the snow to go away)
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