🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <95162@aerospace.AERO.ORG> srt@aerospace.aero.org (Scott "TCB" Turner) writes:
> Mike Sellers:
> >...Any work (written, recorded, drawn, painted, sculpted, etc.)
> >is automatically copyrighted by its creator when it is created.

This is not exactly correct. The statutes, regulations, and court cases
about unpublished works are at best confused and at worst contradictory.
*Published* works are certainly copyrighted in any Berne convention
country, now including the United States.

> >However, to
> >maintain the legal right to sue over unauthorized use of a work in the U.S.,
> >you must register with the Library of Congress.

This is not correct either. Just by saying ``Copyright 1990 me'' you get
the right to sue for an injunction against infringement. Now that we
respect the Berne convention, you don't even need a notice of
copyright---though it can be a bit difficult to sue for damages if you
don't give proper notice of your rights first.

> In fact,
> you do not need to register your copyright in order to bring a
> copyright infringement suit.  It does improve your chances of winning
> the suit.

No, that's not correct. What you gain from registration is $50K in
statutory damages per infringement. I don't know of any precedent for
determining infringement differently for a registered copyright.

---Dan