90 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
90 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
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======================================================================
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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
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FOR
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COMPUTER SOFTWARE HACKS
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from
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June B. Moore
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Attorney at Law
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32 Salinas Avenue
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San Anselmo CA 94960
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Ph 415-456-5889 (after 5:30 pm)
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Writers of software programs that are being placed on the various
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bulletin boards with permission to users of the board to use the pro-
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grams for non-commerical purposes should mark those programs as:
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(c) 1981 John Smith
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It is not necessary to register the work with the Copyright Office
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in Washington, D.C. to get copyright protection. In fact, it is
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not necessary to put the copyright notice on to get protection, but the
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notice is required if you want to sue for infringement, as is regis-
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tration with the Copyright Office. If the omission of the notice was
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inadvertent or distribution was for a limited purpose only (like to
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one's family or a friendly group getting together) the lack of notice
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does not cause any harm. However, the absence of the notice will
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allow anyone who copies your program to claim it was placed in the
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public domain for all to use for any purpose. Only the copyright
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can be licensed and if the other fellow doesn't know you are
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claiming a copyright, he can claim innocence in this copying.
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Registration is simple. Just send a note off to the Copyright
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Office, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. and ask for the forms
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needed to register a computer program. They will send you a
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package of stuff which will include the forms and instructions
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on how to file for registration. Fill out the form, send it back
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with two copies of your printout showing the copyright notice on it and
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$10 and soon the Copyright Office will send you a certificate
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saying the program is registered.
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That's all there is to it!
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Copyright should not be confused with patent. Patents have to be
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original invention and protect the idea embodied in an object or
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machine. Copyright protects any kind of a literary, musical, or
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artist work, including all kinds of graphics and sculpture. It
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also protects recorded audio and visual works such as phonorecords
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and videotapes and films.
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Neither type of protection guarantees no one will steal your effort,
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any more than the police department guarantees no one will burgle
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your house. The law against burglary and the law against copyright
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infringement, however, give the owner of the house or the copy-
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right a kind of right to recover from the thief. Better chance,
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too, in the case of a software thief who copies for commercial
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purposes!
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A copyright will not protect your fine idea for bit-twiddling - it
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will protect your expression of it - that is, no one can copy
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your program directly although they can do some bit-twiddling
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themselves to accomplish the same purpose you aimed at. For
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example, no one can copyright the idea of the play "Romeo and
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Juliette" of a pair of lovers whose families are feuding. But
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Romeo and Juliette could have been copyrighted by William
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Shakespeare and anyone who used his lines in another play about
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the same thing or a similar thing would have infringed his
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copyright.
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Is that clear? Or just confusing? Well, Einstein's theory,
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E = MC*C could not be either patented (it is a natural law)
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or copyrighted (it is an idea) but Albert's book about his
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theory could be, was, and is copyrighted!
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If it comes down to protecting you program through a lawsuit,
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it is necessary to have the notice and the registration. The
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registration is prima facie evidence of the validity of your
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copyright. And should you succeed in proving your copyright,
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the court will issue an injunction against a copier without
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permission, will ultimately give you either his profits, your
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losses (should you start selling the program yourself), and
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your attorney's fees if he was an intentional infringer. It
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could be a good deal for you, if your program is really great -
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and some that I have seen on the CBBS's are great!
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If I can help with advice - but not filing lawsuits- drop
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me a note on the Mill Valley RBBS (415-383-0473) or to
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the above address. I don't practice law - I write about it
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and copyright is one of the areas I write about.
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