🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Oct28.054946.5360@wixer.cactus.org> raistlin@wixer.cactus.org (Eli Boaz) writes:
>In article <1992Oct27.140136.79@cuphub.cup.edu> mcc0798@cuphub.cup.edu writes:
>>How do you go about Copyrighting something?  Do you just have to put a
>>copyright notice somewhere in the program or do you need to also contact some
>>government agency?
>All you *have* to do is include the notice in the program.  But in order
>for it to have a chance of standing up in a court of law, you'd have to
>register the copyright with the US Government.  It cost US$10...

Your software became copyrighted when you wrote it to disk ("fixed it in a
tangible medium").  You should place a copyright notice in a conspicuous
place, e.g. on the opening screen.  Sample: "Copyright 1992 Joe Jones."
If you don't, it will be nearly impossible to protect yourself.

Add the c-in-circle copyright symbol if it is available to you.  If it isn't,
you can try "(C)", though there's no case law supporting its use.  Add the
words "All Rights Reserved" if you fear that South American software pirates
are a risk to your program.

The copyright that you already have is sufficient to win actual damages
in a suit for infringement.  If you register your copyright, you may also
qualify for  punitive damages and recovery of court costs should you bring
suit for infringement.  Note that registration is not necessary to "stand up
in a court of law," but it's the cheapest insurance policy you'll ever buy.

You register your copyright with the United States Copyright Office.  You
will need to file form "TX".  You may obtain forms and instructions only from
the Copyright Office; it is not permitted to photocopy a blank form from a
book, for example.  Telephone (202) 479 0700 to request (free) forms.

If your program consists largely of images, as in a video game, for example,
then you might also need to file form "PA" to cover the artwork itself.

When you file for registration, you'll need to "deposit" two copies of the
copyrighted material.  A standard deposit would be two copies of the first 25
and last 25 pages of a source listing.  Software deposit rules can get a bit
odd if, for example, you wish to protect source as a trade secret and deposit
object code; you may have to file under rule of doubt and/or request special
relief.  If depositing source code is not a problem for you, filing falls
into the category of "do it yourself" legal work, in most cases.

The registration fee is $20 (it went up last January).

All of this information is available at your local Public Library.  It's a
place where information is stored on paper and retrieved manually.  Sounds
odd, I know, but amazingly useful nonetheless.

-- 
Jonathan C. Rice  |   rice@zizania.cray.com  |  ...uunet!cray!rice